The Descendants

I really should've read this before the movie...for the first 100 pages or so, I heard Clooney's voice in my head narrating this. I did eventually get over it, and even before that, it stopped distracting me.

This is a tragic tale of a man losing his comatose wife while realizing he'd lost her months (at least) before the accident that left her in that state. About him finally becoming the father he should be to two very messed up daughters (tho' one's far worse off than the other, and it's not the one he thought was worse).

It's a story told with warmth, sadness (not moroseness–thankfully), touches of humor, and humanity. I laughed, I got misty, I got warm fuzzies. Really, really great book.

Satisfying and reflective novel putting the inner thoughts of a father and husband dealing with his wife's comatose state and impending death, while trying to help his two daughters accept and battle with grief and loss. Secrets revealed about the less-than-perfect relationships bring more guilt and shame to the situation, but most of the issues are transformed into growth and acceptance.

I liked the way the author used dialogue to create authentic characters and situations. The father, Matt King, became very real to me simply through reading the thoughts he had about his wife, being a parent, dealing with his extended family, etc. I found myself smiling when Scottie, the youngest daughter, would make her awkward remarks and show herself to have so much more going on inside than what she shows to the outside world. All this done simply through Matt's thoughts and conversations with her.

I'd recommend this book to people interested in a beach read, but without lame romance plots or predictable thriller plots. I can see why the book was made into a movie because the setting and pacing of the book seems made for that format. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I want to now because I enjoyed the book.

I haven't seen the movie, but it was easy to imagine George Clooney as the narrator here. This was a quick and engaging read, and the characters were well constructed. Hemmings did an impressive job of developing character and a sense of Hawaii in a relatively short book. I had never read anything by him before, but I quite like him as an author.