After reading the fabulous novel A Likely Story — the debut of Leigh McMullan Abramson — we just had to ask her what some of her favorite fiction about families is. After all, the family she features in her own book is one you won’t soon forget. After perusing the below, make your way back to her book if you haven’t already. It is one heck of a peek at literati family royalty. Make sure to check out our full guide to her book on Page and Pairing!
A Likely Story
by Leigh McMullan Abramson
The only child of a famous American novelist discovers a shocking family secret that upends everything she thought she knew about her parents, her gilded childhood, and her own stalled writing career in this standout debut, perfect for fans of Pineapple Street and The Plot.
Rebecca
by Daphne Du Maurier
“Family dynamics do not get more complex than Rebecca, where a young bride is haunted by her new husband’s deceased wife. Du Maurier is a master at creating tension and conjures one of the most deliciously evil characters of all time, housekeeper Mrs. Danvers.”
Freedom
by Jonathan Franzen
“Franzen captures the complexities and contradictions of marriage in all its glory and misery, exploring what draws us toward people and pushes us away, and how those forces are bent and shaped by time itself. It is a book I return to and think of often.”
Mrs. Bridge
by Evan S Connell
“This is a stirring portrait told in short, snapshot vignettes of a family whose carefully maintained façade masks loneliness, regret and sorrow.”
Flight
by Lynn Steger Strong
“I can’t resist a story about extended family brought together by holidays or tragedy to live tensely under one roof, and Steger Strong pulls this off skillfully. Her writing of setting is unparalleled.”
Cost
by Roxana Robinson
“A family gathers at an idyllic house in Maine to address the spiraling addiction of one of its members. Harrowing and unforgettable, Robinson tells this story with beauty, compassion and a keen eye for suspense.”