My rating: 5 stars
This was one of those rare books where, a few chapters in, I already knew that it would be at minimum a 4-star read, possibly even 5 star. As I’ve said before, I’m stingy when it comes to ratings and I don’t give 5 stars very often, but when such a deserving book as this one comes along, I do not see how I can give anything less than 5 stars.
Sonja Yoerg’s All the Best People captured my
attention from the start. The story is
told from the alternating perspectives of three generations of women from the
same family – Carole, her sister Janine, their mother Solange, and Carole’s
adolescent daughter Alison. Part 1,
which takes place in 1972, sets up the story for us as we meet the LaPorte
family through the voices of Carole, Alison, and Janine. From the first page, we already know that
Carole’s mother Solange was committed to a mental institution a few decades
ago, though the reasons why and the details from Solange’s backstory are
withheld from us. Through the
interactions of the LaPorte family, we are given some “clues” that point to a
past family history filled with tragedy and sorrow -- through the character of
Carole especially, we get the sense that some things happened in her childhood
that seem to be coming back to haunt her now and suddenly, the blissful life
she had built with her husband and three kids threatens to fall apart. In part 2, we are taken back to the year 1926
and Solange’s backstory, starting with her marriage to Osborn Gifford. From here, we start to put together the
pieces of the puzzle and the “clues” from part 1 slowly gain clarity, with
complex family dynamics and societal influences coming into play, culminating
in us finally finding out what led Solange – a young mother at the time – to be
institutionalized. Part 3 brings us back
to 1972, to Carole and Alison and their family issues, which finally reach
breaking point as Carole suspects that she might have the same “mental illness”
as her mother and is terrified that, just like Solange, she may get locked up
in an institution, abandoned by her family, destined to live a life of
loneliness and isolation. Will Carole’s
fate end up like Solange’s? Will her
family be able to overcome the dark legacy of mental illness that has haunted their
family line for nearly 5 decades? Though
the ending was a bit flat for my liking in that it did not have the emotional pull
that I was expecting, the revelations about the family lineage that came to
light prior to that all but made up for it.
This book is both beautifully and brilliantly written! It wasn’t until I got to the end of the book
that I realized the brilliance of the structure – having Carole’s story told in
the present, then switching to the past to tell Solange’s story, then coming
back to the present when both stories seem to converge and ultimately things
come to a head at the end. The juxtaposition
of both women’s stories, mixed with perspectives from Alison and Janine at just
the right moments, presented a powerful examination of mental illness and its
impact on family as well as how the choices and decisions one makes can have a
lasting impact on future generations. But
it also went beyond that, as there was also an exploration of relationships (some
kept together by love while others are torn apart by betrayal), human dignity
and morality, family history, class differences, the role of fate, the
importance of trust, etc. There were
even some “coming-of-age” elements with Alison’s story and also the
recollection of Carole’s childhood!
Despite all I just wrote, I don’t think my review does
justice to how great this book is. It’s
a highly recommended read, one that will resonate with readers and may even
stay with you long after you’ve finished reading (which is the impact it had on
me).
Received
advance reader’s copy from Berkley Press via Penguin First-to-Read program
Read in April 2017
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