2014 book 242

Miriam Toews' All My Puny Sorrows
In general, I have liked all of Toews' novels, and this one was no exception. It hits on a lot of her common themes--depression/suicide, sisters, Mennonites, Canada, etc--but feels like a more grown-up sort of story than some of her others (maybe because the main characters are in their 40s) (or maaaaaybe because this is more than little bit autobiographical). In this one, a woman is dealing with her famous concert pianist sister, who has just tried to commit suicide (not for the first time), and basically has to decide whether to try and save her, or to let her go. I mean, she has some other stuff going on in her life too, but her sister's hospitalization, and her (and their mother) trying to deal with it, and the many inherent frustrations, are the main things here. Along with a lot, lot, lot of sadness. The characters are great, though (I especially loved their mother), and things end in a good place. A/A-.