The Homemade God

The premise of this book sounded interesting but I found it to be a bit of a slog to get through. I read the digital version and thought it had to be at least 450 pages (based on how slow and dragging it was), so imagine my shock when I learned it was only 336 pages.There's nothing inherently wrong with the book, but there's also nothing particularly special about it, either. I was looking forward to an atmospheric book with a mysterious reveal about how the father died, if someone was at fault, etc. Instead I got a slow, character-driven novel diving deeper than necessary into each unlikeable siblings' drama.I often like books about complicated family dynamics, but this one just didn't do much for me. I didn't find myself caring about any of the characters. The whole reveal of the father's final painting was odd to me, especially because there was so much focus on it up to that point.I did like the chapter near the end that gave us an "alternate" story or a totally different point of view/way to consider Vic's relationship with his wife. I thought that was an interesting and unique way to present it to the reader, and I'm glad it was included.I think anyone going into this expecting a slow character-driven family drama as opposed to a moody, fast-paced book surrounding a mysterious death in the family may have a better chance of liking it. Perhaps I went into it with the wrong expectations, but even so, when a book is really captivating, it doesn't matter what I expected it to be. In this case, however, it just never grabbed me.

This was my first Rachel Joyce novel, and I was blown away by the honesty, quality, and sheer readability. On the surface, it's the story of a mercurial father and the four children kept in his thrall into adulthood, but it is much more than that (as if that were not enough!) Artist Vic Kemp has made an excellent living with his suggestive paintings of men and women. He's in his late 70s when he announces to his children that he is going to marry a 27-year-old he met online. The mysterious Bella-Mae is also an artist, and somehow he never manages to introduce her to his children--she's always somewhere else, or doesn't show up. Of course, they will finally meet under the most difficult circumstances.I can't tell you how gripping this story is. Each one of the adult children are so well limned that they could carry their own book, and Vic and Bella-Mae could do the same. The question of what is art and who is an artist weaves throughout the narrative with surprising results."The Homemade God" is a wonderful book.

Life is a struggle to find oneself…until one realizes the true self was always there to be seen if you do not others cast a shadow over it

The death of Vic’s wife unhinged him in ways he didn’t expect. Thrown into single parenthood, Vic became an alcoholic and the way he chose to parent or lack of parenting, shows up in traumatizing ways for his children. He has now chosen to marry a woman considerably younger than he is - then ends up dead.There’s a whole lot going on in this story. Wholly character driven.Dysfunctional family, and sibling rivalries which end up destroying each other’s relationships. Grief and healing, memory, identity, I read it as it’s more about bonds and how to move forward after those bonds splinter.I found the mysterious plot over the circumstances in which their father died is what held my attention to this particular novel. I was waiting for a grand finale. It didn’t end the way I thought it would. The book sort of

Wonderful views inside each character's mind whether is was love, jealousy, joy, or hatred. God I wish I could write like that.