A Theory of All Things

By Peggy Leon

From the book jacket:

“Tragedy tore the Bennett children apart when their mother walked out on them some twenty years ago, followed by the suicide of a brother. Now, the five grown siblings, each brilliant, troubled and a little wacky, face personal crises that will bring them back together in a new way.”

I’m not sure if everyone would agree with me on this one, but I absolutely LOVED this book!

It’s based on a totally dysfunctional family that takes their anger, hurt, jealousies and mental angst out on each other. They are better living with some distance between them. That way, they can vent through emails and voice messages.

However, circumstances bring all of them together in one place and the war begins. No one seems to agree on anything and it soon becomes a battle of emotions.

This is Peggy Leon’s second novel. The first, “Mother Country,” received rave reviews and I can see why. She’s a very good writer and has a unique way of describing what’s going on so you feel you are actually witnessing the characters and events.

By the end of the book, you’ve begun to truly relate to these people and even though they are somewhat nuts, they are also quite endearing.

They are also each artistic in different ways and a bit eccentric.

I love the father in the story. Suffering from Alzheimer’s, he has become almost innocent in his outlook on life and seems ambivalent to the arguments around him. Yet, you can tell he’s soaking it all in and during moments of lucidity, he will say something that makes you laugh, knowing he is using his condition to avoid the tangle!

I am definitely going to have to get a copy of “Mother Country” and any other books this author writes in the future.