Characters actually seem like people

Debut creates such a buzz, it’s published in two forms at once

By Ellison G. Weist

The Portland Tribune, Jul 25, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Shari Goldhagen’s first novel lives up to the advance buzz.

Courtesy of Doubleday

The trick to creating believable characters is in straddling the fine line between reality and compelling fiction.

How often have we stumbled upon a novel where the protagonist is interesting but unconvincing as a member of the human race? Or so repugnant that we stop caring what happens?

Shari Goldhagen’s debut, “Family and Other Accidents,” is both a blessing and a relief – a delightful medley of rich, complex characters and a plot in which you can lose yourself. It is the story of two brothers who, despite their differences and obvious failings, manage to convey what it means to be a family.

Jack and Connor Reed live in the suburbs of Cleveland. Thanks to the early demise of their lackluster, self-absorbed parents, Jack, the older by 10 years, is guardian to his 17-year-old brother. Whatever plans he had for his future have been scrapped, and now he works as a lawyer in the firm where his father made partner. Connor is only too aware of this sacrifice but, as in most families, it’s not a subject that bears discussion.

As the story gets under way, Jack, a serial womanizer, begins a relationship with Mona, a redheaded newspaper reporter whose own family resembles the “Leave It to Beaver” clan. Connor is torn between his hormones and the knowledge that he’s probably not in love with his girlfriend, who’s formulating a systematic plan to lose her virginity to him.

Goldhagen’s novel is separated into chapters, each one capable of standing alone. Unlike some books where this gives off a sense of disorganization, the story flows with a dreamlike quality.

The author manages to cover past events seamlessly, as when Mona reflects on her relationship with Jack at a neighbor’s wedding reception: “When Mona started dating Jack, she’d been vision-blurring jealous of the time and effort Jack put into his orphaned brother. … Secretly, Mona had been thrilled when Connor packed his Nissan Sentra and headed off to school in Boulder instead of Case Western where Jack had wanted him to go.”

Through the years the brothers and their respective wives and girlfriends flounder through infidelity, pregnancy and illness. Jack is a focused workaholic who rarely emotes and is an enigma to the people who love him. On the surface Connor is the more relaxed, emotional brother, but his easygoing demeanor belies a backlog of guilt and confusion.

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