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The Family Tree
by Carole Cadwalladr


9.0

based on 12 reviews
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based on 2 votes
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Journalist and first-time novelist Cadwalladr examines themes of nature vs. nurture, and destiny, in this look at three generations of a British family, told from the viewpoint of the most recent generation's Rebecca Monroe, a pop culture researcher whose mother committed suicide.

Dutton, 400 pages
12/29/2004
$23.95

ISBN: 0525948422

Fiction
General Literature & Fiction

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Daily Telegraph Julia Flynn

Three-generation family sagas are two a penny; but here is one which not only gives the saga format a patina of intellectualism, but encompasses many moods. The prose has a conversational ease, but there is no mistaking the sophistication of the writing.

Kirkus Reviews

Despite Rebecca's light, self-mocking tone, this isn't chick-lit. It's women's literature ready to take on the men--and a wonderful read at that.

Publishers Weekly

[The] utterly winning tale of one lovable, dysfunctional family.

Library Journal Barbara Love

[A] promising debut, which effortlessly combines pathos and humor.

Booklist Misha Stone

This strong and plucky debut, reminiscent of Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995), marks the arrival of a singular novelist who uses wit, insight, and even cultural criticism to explore one young woman's understanding of her family and herself.

Entertainment Weekly Jennifer Reese

Cadwalladr has produced an ambitious book, packed with likable, funny characters. [24 Dec. 2004, p. 72]

The New York Times Book Review Patricia T. O'Connor

This is an ambitious debut by a novelist with a wicked sense of humor. I look forward to Cadwalladr's next book.

Washington Post Susan Adams

Cadwalladr has written an inventive, touching book that offers a new take on the debate between nature and nurture.

Daily Telegraph Phil Baker

Much of it is not funny, or funny only in the most flinch-inducing way, although Cadwalladr has a distinctively female comic voice - a sort of winsome bitterness - that easily modulates into something more serious.

San Francisco Chronicle Summer Block

Well-plotted action, clever asides and thought-provoking social commentary. But like too many of her contemporaries, she allows her male characters to fall absolutely flat.

The Independent Catherine Taylor

Much of the writing is engaging, and Cadwalladr has real talent and a particular gift for comedy. Let's hope that with her next book she is less clumsy when disentangling the seriousness from the spoof.

Wall Street Journal Stephen Barbara

The embittered tone of the book will leave readers weary.

The average user rating for this book is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

eleanor j gave it a10:
Loved it. I know how naff this sounds but it really did make me laugh AND make me cry. And taught me more about genetics than I ever thought I'd need to know...

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The Family Tree by Carole Cadwalladr

The Family Tree
by Carole Cadwalladr