The Altruists

The Altruists by Andrew Ridker, 308 pages

Never really a cohesive unit, the Alter family has further unraveled since the death of mother Francine two years ago. Sure, father Arthur has managed to hang on to his "visiting professor" position at the prestigious Danforth University for the last 15 years, but he's now down to teaching just two poorly-rated classes a semester. Son Ethan had a well-paying, if soul-sucking, job in New York, but since his mother's death, he quit and has slowly become a hermit who spends way too much money shopping online. And then there's daughter Maggie, who has somewhat vapidly spurned her inheritance and dedicated her life to helping out her neighbors for a few bucks here and there. When Arthur invites his children home for a weekend visit, it becomes an unofficial individual self-absorption rises to the top

I'm always up for a good dysfunctional-family story, and Ridker delivers in this St. Louis-set novel. Between the awkward flashback sequences and the awkward present-day interactions, this whole book is hilarious in a cringe-worthy way. I definitely enjoyed reading it. Good for fans of Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeny's The Nest, Andrew Sean Greer's Less, and Patrick DeWitt's French Exit.