from inside the book jacket:
"Las Vegas, 1994. The Prices are introduced by Viola, the family's outspoken matriarch: Her husband, Cecil, has shut the door behind him for the last time; and their four adult kids, scattered across the country, seem determined to send her to her grave, or at least to the hospital worrying. Paris is divorded, mother to a nearly seventeen-year-old son and the one who always comes to everybody's rescue - although she doesn't have a cluse as to how to save herself. Lewis is the scapegoat, and his troubles keep landing him in jail, which only seems to confirm what his family thinks he is. Out in Chicago, Charlotte knows she's gotten the short end of the stick for years, has 'nothin in common except blood' with her parents and siblings and would just as soon divorce them all. Janelle, the baby of the family, is not only on the defensive about the course of her own life but she's facing a new crisis, a fast-brewing storm with her teenage daughter that threatens more than she's willing to admit. And don't even ask Viola about Cecil: 'He's a bad habit I've had for thirty-eight years which would make him my husband.' But Cecil has some ideas for taking his hard-working life into his own hands, regardless of what his wife and kids think about it."

I really enjoyed reading this book. McMillan tells the story through the voices of every member of the Price family, which gives each character depth. Each character has their own set of problems and with each of them telling their own story with the addition of the family members' point of views, there is a deeper understanding of why each family member does what they do and how they got to where they are in their life. Ultimately it is Viola, the matriarch, who pulls them all together and reminds them of what it is to be a family.

mailed to dabercro

Arrived in the mail yesterday. Thanks Aberpeter!