Thursday, August 30, 2018

The Misfortune of Marion Palm

The Misfortune of Marion Palm by Emily Culliton, 282 pages.
This was, for me, that rare enjoyable book with no likable characters. Marion has left her husband Nathan behind as she tries to stay ahead of the audit that is certain to expose her embezzlement. As we hear from both of them as they narrate their stories, it's hard to feel sympathy for either. Nathan is a self-absorbed and entitled writer and Marion seems incapable of true feelings for others. Throughout the book, Culliton does an excellent job of keeping the book engaging and readable, and shows her characters (or allows her characters to show) their somewhat buried humanity.
The people from whom Marion has liberated the funds are almost less likable than Marion and Nathan. It's only Ginny and Jane, the daughters of the Palms, who worry the reader. How will these two survive with an uncaring and now absent mother and a father who struggles to notice them? Culliton gives us an interesting read without easy answers.

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