This family drama about connection, parenthood, grief and love simply shines. Dual timelines track the Sorensons from their very inception to present day and give the reader a deep understanding and kinship with this fictional Chicago family.
David Sorenson and Marilyn Connolly meet and fall in love in the 70s. Marilyn gives up her education when she becomes pregnant while David continues his medical school. They get married and eventually bring four daughters into the world: Wendy, Violet (born ten months after Wendy), Liza, and Grace (who comes along nine years after Liza). David and Marilyn's love for each other and their marriage is enviable, not just to bystanders but to their daughters. As adults, the sisters collectively feel like what their parents have is an insurmountable bar to reach.
Their family's relationships become strained in adulthood when Violet's son who she gave up for adoption at birth reenters their lives. Jonah, now fifteen, has been orphaned by his adopted parents, but Violet (now married with small children) is shaken by his presence. Wendy, rich and widowed, decides to take him in because as she bitingly puts it, "Violet resists interruption". Liza becomes pregnant by her chronically depressed partner and starts an affair with a colleague. Claire, a recent college graduate in Oregon is feeling lost and fakes going to law school for her parents' sake. At one point Marilyn has the thought that the finish line is never really reached when it comes to parenthood and this rings true as their daughters navigate adulthood.
The characters jump off the page with their acerbic wit and musings. Their complexity and the comedic timing of the dialogue are impeccable. The Most Fun We Ever Had is laugh out loud funny, like when Wendy is considering that she doesn't like people except for infants, because they wear hilarious outfits.
The sibling dynamic is both deeply loving and complicated. Marilyn at one point compares their sisterhood to a seesaw, with button-pusher Wendy being the one who would jump off early to leave the other toppling into the sand. Claire Lombardo takes us inside the hearts and minds of each member of the Sorenson family, and we bear witness to their joys and losses. Their kindnesses, vulnerabilities and weaknesses make them relatable and lovable. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I give it 5 stars out of 5.
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