From the Bookshelf of Reading 1001…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought

I had really hoped that I would like this book, but unfortunately, I had to force myself to finish it. I didn't like the story, the characters or the style (stream-of-consciousness). Autumn was so much better.
...more

The Accidental won the Tournament of Books in 2006. In preparation for the Super Rooster in October I'm reading the winners of past tournaments that I've somehow missed.
What an odd book this is. It's about a family of 4 who are joined by a strange young woman as they are vacationing in Norfolk one summer. Amber is some sort of catalyst towards each family member learning about themselves. But who is she? We learn she was conceived at The Alhambra movie theatre. She talks about movies alot.
Eve, ...more
What an odd book this is. It's about a family of 4 who are joined by a strange young woman as they are vacationing in Norfolk one summer. Amber is some sort of catalyst towards each family member learning about themselves. But who is she? We learn she was conceived at The Alhambra movie theatre. She talks about movies alot.
Eve, ...more

From the picture on the cover of the edition that I had, I was expecting a murder or at least an accidental death in this. There isn't one, but I still enjoyed this story of a family becoming more functional as their good and bad traits are brought home to the various family members by a mysterious visitor.
There's a bit of playing with writing styles, including stream of consciousness. While I'm not a big fan, it worked here for me because it does at least move from character to character. You a ...more
There's a bit of playing with writing styles, including stream of consciousness. While I'm not a big fan, it worked here for me because it does at least move from character to character. You a ...more

A story of broken people; Eve the mother who is having writer's block, Michael her second husband who is sleeping with his students, Magnus who is suffering from guilt for his part in teasing. Amber walks into the home where the family is living on a working vacation (for the mother). No one questions her presence and she messes with all of their minds. The problem of poor communication allows this stranger to insert herself into their life. I didn't like the story much but was intrigued by the
...more




Jan 19, 2012
Mekki
marked it as to-read

Mar 08, 2011
Sabrina
marked it as to-read

Apr 13, 2013
Sara
marked it as to-read

Feb 21, 2015
Elizabeth
marked it as to-read

Jan 07, 2016
Kate
marked it as to-read

Jan 25, 2016
Kyle Mahoney
added it



Jan 13, 2018
Sorobai
marked it as to-read

Jan 21, 2018
Lacey
added it

Jun 02, 2019
Yvonne
marked it as to-read