If there is one institution in this world that can make you laugh, cringe, weep and sigh then it would have to be family. Despite the emotional minefield that families can be, they are also a place of refuge – even if the various members are all very different. As one quote on families said ”home is where they have to let you in.” That is why family is such a great source for fiction writers . Families bring people together who have long histories and memories which can lead to situations and behaviours that are comic and unacceptable. It doesn’t matter though – family have to love you, even when they don’t like you.

No author I have read recently brings out the eccentricities, dysfunction love in families like Jonathan Tropper. This is where I leave you had me laughing out loud and cringing all in one swift motion. A death in the family brings together estranged brothers and sisters all with their own problems and issues which ferment and erupt. I was so impressed that I moved on to Tropper’s Book of Joe which was a moving and funny portrayal of  a man unexpectedly pulled back to his old small home town and family. I laughed and sometimes buried my head in my hands and peeked at the pages through my fingers at the all too recognisable human behaviours of a self-aware but struggling character … I then put a hold on Tropper’s newest book!

Well that is  my recommended author for the coming months.  Has anyone got any further suggestions for me? Think humour, relationships and clever observation of human foibles …