Author: Joshua Max Feldman
Publication: William Morrow, Trade Paperback, 2018 (originally published 2017)
Genre: Fiction
Adam is a former musician and recovering alcoholic who is home for Thanksgiving for the first time in many years. Surrounded by his parents and siblings, nieces and nephews—all who have seen him at his worst—he can’t shake the feeling that no matter how hard he tries, he’ll always be the one who can’t get it right.
Marissa is a flight attendant whose marriage is strained by simmering tensions over race, class, and ambition. Heading to her in-laws for their picture-perfect holiday family dinner, her anxiety is intensified by the knowledge she is pregnant from an impulsive one-night-stand.
Adam and Marissa meet in an airport restaurant on Thanksgiving morning. Over the course of this day fraught with emotion and expectation, these two strangers will form an unlikely bond as they reckon with their family ties, their pasts, and the choices that will determine their way forward.
Feldman casts a knowing eye on the traditional Thanksgiving family gathering, as he explores our struggles to know—and to be—our best selves. Ironic and sad, Start Without Me is a thoughtful and sometimes painful page-turner for the holiday season.
Audience: Fans of bleak dark fiction such as Revolutionary Road (which my book group read in 2014) or movies like Lost in Translation
My Impressions: This was a fast and somewhat entertaining read that was a vivid contrast to my family’s upbeat Thanksgiving where criticism, if any, would have been for the person (usually me) who offers to help once all the work in the kitchen is complete. I know I am fortunate in my family and it was not very appealing to read about so many dysfunctional individuals. I think I would have liked the family of Needham police the best and they were just a distant memory to Marissa, the main character. Still, it was interesting to see how these two lonely characters connect and how that fleeting intersection has the potential to change their lives – at least, we think so, although the author doesn’t make any easy predictions, leaving the reader to guess what will happen.
“Because what if I get back inside and do something stupid?”Purchase Links: HarperCollins * IndieBound * Barnes & Noble * Amazon
She grinned back at him, also knowing, and a little sad. “Imagine that.
He looked at the house, looked back at her. “I feel like I’m nine again and I have to play Chopin in front of a thousand people. What am I supposed to say to them?”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just walk in the door. That’s all you have to do.”
Off the Blog: I was reading this dark tale of Thanksgiving over Thanksgiving weekend and at the same time as The Perfect Weapon by my talented classmate, David Sanger, which also portrays a bleak future - but under cyberwarfare rather than people warfare. It is also well written and very accessible, and my book group enjoyed hearing him speak tonight.
Tour Stops
November 15th: Write – Read – Life
November 26th: Instagram: @kate.olson.reads
November 26th: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
November 28th: Instagram: @the_need_to_read
November 29th: Instagram: @notthepathtonarnia
December 4th: Comfy Reading
December 5th: Jackie Reads Books
Monday, December 10th: As I turn the pages
TBD: bookchickdi
TBD: Wining Wife
