Book Review: Tiny Americans
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This is my book review of Tiny Americans by Devin Murphy.
From the National Bestselling author of The Boat Runner comes a poignant, luminous novel that follows one family over decades and across the world.
Book Summary:
What makes up a family?
In Tiny Americans, siblings Jamie, Lewis, and Connor Thurber grow up watching their parents’ marriage crumble bit by bit. Their father tried and failed to stop drinking. Then he just up and left them.
Left with their artist mother, the Thurber children must deal with their anger and abandonment. Their mother retreats into her artwork.
The book grows with the children. They resent the parent who left and also the parent they were left with.
This book is about families who drift apart, come back together, and drift apart again. As inevitable as the tides in the ocean.
I always like reading bits and pieces about the personalities of various characters. It’s interesting to me how the author develops each character’s unique personality. To me, that is the measure of an author’s talent.
At times, the book was sad; at other times, it was just life. And sometimes, as we all know, life is sad.
Composed of a series of touchstone moments, Tiny Americans is a thrilling and bittersweet rendering of a family that, much like the tides, continues to come together and drift apart.
About The Author:
Devin Murphy grew up near Buffalo, NY, in a family with Dutch roots. He holds a BA/MA from St. Bonaventure University, an MFA from Colorado State University, a PhD from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, and is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Bradley University.
He has worked various jobs in national parks around the country and once had a three–year stint at sea that took him to over fifty countries across all seven continents.
His fiction has appeared in over 60 literary journals and anthologies, including The Missouri Review, Glimmer Train, The Chicago Tribune, New Stories from the Midwest, and Confrontation.
He lives with his wife and children in Chicago.
I hope you enjoyed this book review.
Brenda,
It is always a treat to read your posts. I appreciate your subject matter, correct spelling and grammar, and use of the correct words. Often, I just want to correct the posts of other bloggers and return them. Have a great day!
Kathy
I go back to reread my posts and find mistakes and I just shudder. I hate mistakes! Thanks for the feedback. I try my best.