Fabulous Fiction Firsts #155

Tue, 03/24/2009 - 3:04pm by muffy

Canadian journalist Elizabeth Kelly's Apologize, Apologize! is a novel about the triumphs and tragedies of the "fantstic Flanagans" of Martha's Vineyard - a super-rich, dysfunctional, "nutty/drunken/wacky/irresponsible" family.

The angst-ridden narrator Collie (named after his parents' favorite dog breed) recounts life in this zany household, his troubled relationship with brother Bingo, the guilt over a family tragedy and his hard-won redemption.

Critics are impressed with first-time novelist Kelly's display of "unrelenting quirkiness" that begs comparison with Daniel Wallace and John Irving.

Its whimsical tone also brings to mind Galt Niederhoffer's A Taxonomy of Barnacles, Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections and The Royal Tenenbaums.