Did You Ever Have a Family

Did You Ever Have a Family is the debut novel by American literary agent and author Bill Clegg, published in 2015.

Did You Ever Have A Family
First edition
AuthorBill Clegg
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
PublisherGallery/Scout Press
Publication date
September 2015
Pages304
ISBN9781476798172
813/.6

Plot summary

The novel focuses on June Reid, a beautiful, rich Connecticut woman. On the night before her daughter’s wedding, June Reid loses her daughter, her daughter’s fiancé, her ex-husband, and her boyfriend in a tragic house fire. Grief-stricken, she drives across the country to Washington. Over the course of her journey, details slowly emerge about what caused the fire and its impact on the community.

Characters
  • June Reid – bereaved mother, girlfriend and ex-wife
  • Luke Morey – June's boyfriend
  • Silas Riley – teenager employed by Luke
  • Cissy – The Moonstone's housekeeper
  • Lydia Morey née Hannafin – Luke's mother
  • Rebbeca – co-owner of The Moonstone hotel, Kelly's girlfriend
  • Kelly – co-owner of The Moonstone hotel, Rebbeca's girlfriend
  • Lolly Reid – June's daughter
  • Will Landis – Lolly's fiancé
  • Adam – June's ex-husband
  • Winton – lottery scammer
  • Edith – florist hired for Lolly and Will's wedding
  • Rick – son of the caterer hired for Lolly and Will's wedding
  • Dale Landis – Will's father
  • George – businessman, Luke's father
  • Rex – Lydia's ex-boyfriend
  • Ben – Cissy's deceased husband
  • Earl Morey – Lydia's ex-husband

Reception

Did You Ever Have a Family received favourable reviews from, amongst others, The New York Times, the Financial Times, The Guardian and The Independent.[1][2][3][4][5]

In The New York Times, Kaui Hart Hemmings called the novel "masterly" and "thoughtful", noting that it is the characters' "complicated pasts... far more than the immediate concerns of the present or the obvious burdens of grief" and "connection — the way people and their lives fuse" that Clegg is interested in exploring.[6]

In the Financial Times, Suzi Feay noted that Clegg has "an eye for characters who cannot easily fit into the boxes that society has assigned" even if the main protagonist "June remains a puzzle, and hazily unconvincing". While praising Clegg for his ability to "not fall into the obvious trap of giving regular characters bigger vocabularies and more elaborate syntax than they would typically use", she also criticised his writing for being "generally plain and even unambitious", with the cast of characters' voices "not hugely differentiated".[7]

Recognition

References
  1. Hemmings, Kaui Hart. "'Did You Ever Have a Family' by Bill Clegg". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  2. Feay, Suzy. "'Did You Ever Have A Family', by Bill Clegg". Financial Times. The Financial Times. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  3. Clark, Clare. "Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg review – a quiet novel of devastating power". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  4. Currie, Janette. "Did You Ever Have a Family, by Bill Clegg - book review: Bereavement counselling". The Independent. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  5. Daniel, Lucy. "Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg, review: 'quiet'". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  6. Hemmings, Kaui Hart. "'Did You Ever Have a Family' by Bill Clegg". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  7. Feay, Suzy. "'Did You Ever Have A Family', by Bill Clegg". Financial Times. The Financial Times. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  8. "Did You Ever Have a Family". National Book Award. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  9. Brown, Mark (29 July 2015). "Man Booker prize 2015: US literary agent among 13 writers on longlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
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