Review: Did You Ever Have a Family

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was a book club read which I struggled with.

Essentially it's the story of a family tragedy - June Reid's house is burned down on the eve of her daughter's wedding. June's daughter, future son-in-law, ex husband and current partner are all killed in the blaze and the house is completely destroyed.

The book covers events leading up to the fire and the aftermath. Through various characters, in the past and present, the mystery of how the fire happened is revealed and June, who disappears after the fire to a motel on the coast, is finally located.

The writing is mainly good but there were too many characters and too much switching between them and time frames for this to be easily read. I found myself ambivalent towards June. I would rather have either been in total sympathy or against her but I wasn't either of those. Other reviewers have described this as a quiet book. I would agree but at times it was too quiet and I struggled to stay with it.

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