Hello From the Gillespies by Monica McInerney

What a wonderful book!  I became totally caught up in it.  It enveloped me. This is the  story of a typical dysfunctional family who happen to live in the Australia.

The Gillespies live on a sheep station in New South Wales.  Angela is the mother of the clan of four children.  She is a take control sort of person.  Every Christmas she sends out a "Christmas Letter" outlining everything  that has happened to her family over the past year.  This year she decides to take the opportunity to rant a bit about her life.  She has no intention of actually sending the letter but circumstances beyond her control force the letter to be sent via e-mail to a hundred people.  The consequences of that action are the basis for this story.

The author takes the reader right into the heart of this family.  We get to know the real Angela and how she relates to each of her family members.  We are concerned about the mishaps of the twins and Lindy. We find ourselves wanting to know why Ig behaves like he does. We become immersed in Nick's "research" and wonder if this is the right time for him to pursue his family geneology.

An unfortunate accident occurs which throws the entire structure of the family off-balance.  They all pull together in spite of it and show the reader what a family is.

This author has written eight other novels and you can be certain that I will attempt to read them all.

Ladybookbug!