Book Review- Jami Attenberg's The Middlesteins

Edie and Richard Middlestein appear to have a very happy life. They have been married for over thirty years, have a beautiful home in the suburbs and they have successful careers. They have raised two children and have been blessed two two grandchildren. They should be entering their golden years with an eye towards travel and relaxation, but their marriage is crumbling.

The passion is gone and they have been drifting apart for years. Edie, who has spent her whole life battling a weight problem, has finally started to experience serious health issues due to her obesity. Richard has met another woman who makes him feel alive and he decides to ask Edie for a divorce, only sending Edie deeper into her downward spiral.

Everyone is worried about Edie and the whole family pitches in to help her lose the weight. As Edie's problems are finally out in the open, the family starts to discover the depth of its own dysfunction, forcing all of the characters to face their personal issues.

Jami Attenberg writes a strong family drama, filled with heartbreak and fears. The biggest theme is mortality, as the family faces the serious reality of Edie dying from her obesity. It was so frustrating to witness Edie's stubbornness with her food issues. Having recently dealt with family members and their own stubbornness over their addictions, this drove me nuts to read. I wanted to reach through the pages and shake Edie.

It would seem easy to label The Middlesteins as a book about the obesity epidemic, but that's not what Attenberg has done. Attenberg has not written a story based on a hot button social issue, she has written about a family, who happens to be dealing with an obese mother. The issue doesn't trump the characters. She doesn't  excuse or condone Edie's obesity, it simply is a part of her life, a life that Attenberg examines from various angles. 

I came to love the Middlestein family, their warts and all. Attenberg writes them honestly and they feel very real. This story has a slice-of-life tone that I tend to favor in literature. It also has enough scandal to keep it entertaining. 

I liked Attenbergs style and I look forward to reading her other novels very soon. 

Book Review- Mitch Moxley's Apologies to my Censor

Mitch Moxley's autobiography about his time spent as a journalist in Beijing during the years surrounding the 2008 Summer Olympics is engaging and quirky. Clearly, Moxley enjoys living life to the fullest and he does not limit himself to reporting stories, he gets out there and becomes the story. His love for China, warts and all, makes Apologies to My Censor a thrilling read. I'm a lover of traveling and travel writing and this made me want to experience China.

It's Moxley's willingness to "say yes" to new experiences and his willingness to go outside of his comfort zone that makes you root for him. He poses in an ill-fitting suit for an the China version of Cosmopolitan Magazine's 100 Most Eligible Bachelor spread. He attempts to act the part of a   suitor in a music video, much of his efforts so bad that the end up edited out. He goes on a dating show and wows the girls with some Elvis swagger.

The best chapter was one where he details working as a pretend business man for a company that needed western men to give them face. The concept of face and saving face pops up frequently. In this situation it's nearly unbelievable and fascinating to read. The men were hired to attend meetings and basically sit around an office and pretend to work for the company. In addition to detail the events in this book, Moxley sold an article about his experience to the Atlantic. The chapter is hilariously and aptly titled, Rent a White Guy.

Moxley also speaks candidly about this struggles as a journalist and to form a life abroad. He makes many friends from various parts of the world, all chasing their own dreams in China. A reoccurring theme is one of permanence and the inability to settle down when you don't know how long you plan on staying. Moxley has difficulties forming lasting relationships and often speaks with envy of his friends back home in Canada, friends who are married with kids, stable jobs and mortgages. Moxley feels the pull of both worlds and it makes his story even more compelling.

This is a great book for anyone who has ever dreamed of packing up and moving to another country. 

Book Review- Amy Silverstein's Sick Girl

A few months ago, my aunt passed away after a long battle with chronic back problems. When I was cleaning out her house, I found a paperback copy of Amy Silverstein's memoir, Sick Girl, on her nightstand. I'm not sure if the book was a gift or something that she purchased as a way to help her through her own health issues. It may have come her way, because like Silverstein, my uncle spent most of his life battling heart failure. She may have wanted to read it to connect to him. She may have just bought it because Oprah said so. My aunt was a sucker for all things recommended by Oprah.

Amy Silverstein was in her early twenties, attending a prestigious law school, when her life was turned upside down. Silverstein was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, initially thought to be related to a virus, but later doctors discovered that she had been born with a heart defect. Silverstein's memoir details her heart transplant and the day-to-day struggles of living as an organ donor recipient.

Silverstein is candid with her wish to die and her outbursts at doctors. It's a tough read. I wish that I had read this book, while I was caring for my aunt. I felt like it gave me a great insight to what it would be like to live with a chronic illness and I could see a lot of the more difficult and ugly moments that I had with my aunt, parallel in Silverstein's story. This made for an often emotional read. I think if I had read this book while my aunt was still alive, I may not have engaged her in so many arguments and I may have been more understanding when she needed to vent or have emotional break-downs.

On the flip side, seeing so many parallels with my aunt, made me feel a bit of resentment towards Silverstein, especially when her stubbornness made life more difficult on her family and doctors. I understand that the willfulness comes from a loss of control, but it's still really irritating and stressful to read those scenes and know that my aunt exhibited a lot of the same behavior.

Silverstein was simply not likable, even though I had compassion for her situation. I think that her willingness to write her memoir honestly, even though it made her difficult to like, is something to admire. She could have very easily left out the parts that showed her in an unfavorable light. 

Sick Girl is a must read if you have family or friends going through an illness. I gained a great deal of perspective, that I only wish I had gained sooner.