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| Plot Summary of Family News |
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"This novel is written from the point of view of three characters: Susannah, a journalist and single parent of thirteen year old Lizzie, Lizzie herself, and Teddy, Lizzie's father, an artist who loves his daughter,and is on good terms with Susannah, but is pretty good at avoiding family responsibility.
The first chapter is from Susannah's point of view, the second from Lizzie's and the third from Teddy's, and so on. Often, the very same event is described quite differently depending on whose perspective it's from.
And there are some events, of course, that only one of the characters experiences.
One very significant event is the death of Susannah's father. Interestingly, even though dead, he is the 'antagonist' in the story, because it is because of him that Lizzie has never met her mother's family, and it's his death that brings Susannah and Lizzie to her parents' home after 14 years. And it is this visit that bring all kinds of emotions to the fore - for both Susannah and Lizzie.
Meanwhile, Teddy is also affected, because while Susannah and Lizzie are away, he gets arrested for his part in a peace demonstration.
In jail, he doesn't have Susannah and Lizzie for support, but finds that he has time to consider where his lifestyle may be leading him."
Tena van't Foort, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Family News |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- search for family/history
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Coping with loss of loved one(s)
Yes
Loss of...
- father
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 60's-90's
Profession/status:
- business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
The Americas (not US):
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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