"Rebecca Monroe is terrified of turning into her mother.

On the day Lady Diana married Prince Charles, Rebecca’s mother locked herself in the bathroom of 24 Beech Drive and never came out. Was it because the holiday dinner didn’t turn out just right? Because Rebecca’s grandmother married her first cousin? Or was she simply, unalterably unhappy? According to Rebecca’s scientist husband, our genes control our fate, but Rebecca isn’t so sure. Leaving everything to science allows little room for the events that shape our lives.

Looking for clues in a family history filled with three generations of mistaken marriages, dubiously fathered children, and hand-me-down sayings, Rebecca discovers she is just one piece of a family history that is still unraveling—and she wonders if events of the past are destined to repeat themselves in her own child’s future.

The intertwining relationships of mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and husbands and wives go to the heart of The Family Tree as it transcends the story of one woman and her family to become an indelible and resonant novel in which author Carole Cadwalladr ponders what truly makes us who we are."

I have a hardcover copy of this as well, but figured I might get to it sooner via audio. Acquired through PaperBackSwap.com. (unabridged on 11 CD's; read by Josephine Bailey)

This is quite possibly my favorite read of the year. I'd had this on my bookshelf for quite some time, but didn't feel the urge to pick it up until just recently, and now I regret not having done so sooner. It occurs to me now that this novel reminds me a bit of Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex, although with more humor, British-style.

I liked the way this story was pieced together, in alternating time periods, covering three generations. I liked the fact that the main character, Rebecca, seems to be close to my own age, and reading about her childhood in the 70's & 80's brought back memories of my own, with social references to the wedding of Charles and Diana, Who Shot J.R. Ewing, and various others. I liked the format of starting each chapter/section with a dictionary definition, which somehow related to the storyline. I liked the way genetics fit into this story, and I liked the way in which the family members interacted with one another. Really, there were so many things I liked about this novel. The ending was the only thing was slightly disappointing for me. Otherwise, this book was a perfect fit for me.

I listened to this on audio, with Josephine Bailey as an especially competent and engaging reader. I would recommend the audio, although apparently the hard copy has some diagrams and such that would have added to the story. I regret that at one point I owned both a hardcover copy & audio, but chose to give away my hardcover (prior to reading). I now wish I had kept it to add to my permanent collection.

Reserved for booklady331's audio VBB.

Sending off to rebekkila, who chose this from the VBB.

This arrived in the mail today. I will listen to it soon.

Released as part of the audio bookbox.

Arrived here safely today - thank you, rebikkila!

Really, indigo88 has almost written my journal entry for me already. I too enjoyed the British humour (and the British pronunciation), the movement among time periods, the dictionary definitions, and the topical references, especially to the time of Rebecca's childhood. The writing was very good, often subtle, and the excellent performance by Josephine Bailey brought out every nuance.

Cadwalladr has created an amazing family of distinct, believable characters, and for me, most of the fun was seeing how the interacted and changed over time. You may find yourself revising your opinions as you learn more about them. For example, I did NOT like Doreen at all, but I grew to pity her as I understood her lack of self-esteem, and her need to compensate by pretentious vocabulary and entertaining.

I did check out a print copy from my library, partly to look for the diagrams and partly to revisit some sections (hard to do with CD's). The diagrams added some information, but I felt the audio stood alone quite well.

On shelves in Book Nook.