Did You Ever Have a Family is the debut novel by American literary agent and author Bill Clegg, published in 2015.
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 Rebecca – co-owner of The Moonstone hotel, Kelly's girlfriend Kelly – co-owner of The Moonstone hotel, Rebecca'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 reviews from, amongst others, The New York Times, the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Independent and The Daily Telegraph.
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.
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".
Recognition 2015 - National Book Award, longlist 2015 - Man Booker Prize, longlist
References