About month ago I bought my one of my favourite magazines, Dazed&Confused to read on the train home. Much to my dismay, the night before, I realised I had bought the same copy of the magazine I had previously purchased - only, with a different cover. Having already read most of the magazines I am only interested in, I thought it would be a good time to make a quick trip to Asda and buy a book. I chose the Descendants for two reasons, 1- George Clooney was on the cover, and 2- I knew it must be remotely interesting, because it was made into a film.
My usual routine with books is to buy one, read a few pages, and then never return to it. Maybe I buy them as an attempt to become more focused on something else rather than Facebook or Twitter, I’m not even sure myself, but this time however was different. I was fixated with the story, and even though it took me over the month to read it, I managed to actually finish a book that wasn't about Karl Pilkinton or Franky Boyle.
The book was, as the reviews say; Gripping and Funny that steers a deliciously scenic route between heartbreak and hilarity - it made me laugh, cry and think.
The plot; (as described by a reader off Amazon)
"The Descendants" is a tragicomic novel about Matt, workaholic father of two daughters and husband to the high maintenance Joanie, who is in a coma and whose life support has been switched off. The book is concerned with Matt and his daughters' quest to track down Joanie's lover and tell him that this will be the last chance to say goodbye.
I really enjoyed this, despite the fact that it revolves around an irreversible coma - Joanie as revealed is so unlikeable that her fate never really depresses you. The daughters (one 10 and one 17) are finely drawn (as is Alex' sort-of boyfriend) and as for Matt, just when you think he is most whipped, he surprises you with a show of grit.
I would never normally read a novel like this - not big on comic novels, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and the revelation about the business connections in the middle of the book was absolutely compulsive. I would definitely read something else by this author.
