The Hole We're in

The prepublication reviews I read indicated that this was a novel about a family struggling with debt- but it is about so much more. Yes, one theme is money, but so are religion, politics, war, education, social position... really anything that affects a contemporary American family. It is a wide ranging book , but one that is held together by the completely believable , deeply flawed, but mostly sympathetic characters. This book packs a lot of people, plot ,and theme into one short and readable book that gives you a lot to think about, and at the same time is very entertaining. Not a dull page in the book.

THWI is a quick read. It moves quickly, covers a lot of ground in the lifespan of a family and its members. The writing is spare, but punchy--not overly verbose, but you aren't left hanging. The story is a tragic comedy and revolves around a family that self-destructs collectively and individually. So many interesting themes here - how well-meaning parents go wrong, the impact of parents on their children, how each of us is no better than any of us, how we judge others more harshly than ourselves...I could list about 20 more. This is terrific storytelling and worth the read. It's both contemporary and classic and each character feels very true. Highly recommended--give it a try.

The decisions we make to pursue or maintain an image affect our entire lives, and the lives of our children. Sure, it's a quick way to describe Zevin's new book but the devil sure is in the details... in the late 90s, Pomeroy family scion Roger leaves a comfortable school admin position to go back to college, where he swiftly loses his appetite for learning and begins an affair with his major professor. Wife Georgia is stricken by oldest daughter Helen's demands for a lavish wedding, mounting credit card debt, and the temptation to open yet another account using her oldest son's good record. Meanwhile, Patsy is the youngest kid who has been uprooted by the move to support Roger's schooling, and she finds a bit of romance only to be routed out by her ultra-religious family and shipped off to her grandmother's house to finish out high school. The story really takes off in act two, when Patsy is basically disowned by Roger and told to find her own way to pay for college (as if the family had extra money floating around!). Patsy's solution is to enlist in the armed forces and finds herself in the desert, having married a high school classmate and now dealing with the demands of a family of her own. The effects of Roger & Georgia's decisions and debt fall crushingly on Patsy, who struggles to climb out of the titular hole that the family has occupied for so long. While this novel has a lot to say about conservative/Evangelical Christianity, I'd say it's more about larger issues of class and culture in America. These things are intertwined, of course, and have a huge impact on the way we spend money and resources. I think it's a very relevant narrative that will appeal to a wide group of adult (and potentially older teen) audiences, and will spur avid discussion about causes and effects of things like the current recession, consumer debt, the intersection of personal desires and public politics, and the things we are passing on to subsequent generations.

After I finished The Hole We're In early one morning before leaving for the day, I left it for my husband with the note "I really liked this and I think you will too." When I got home at 5:30 that afternoon he was almost done with it. This is a serious and literary novel that is also a page-turner. The blurb on the cover describes it as "The Corrections for our recessionary times" to which I would add "but not as bloated and pretentious, and with characters you will care about and not want to strangle." The women in the Pomeroy family are so well done and I was really rooting for Patsy through all the stages of her story. Ms. Zevin shows how patterns repeat in families despite our efforts to be nothing like our parents. I hope we'll see more from her.