Start Without Me (Book Review)

Title: Start Without Me
Author: Joshua Max Feldman
Publication: William Morrow, Trade Paperback, 2018 (originally published 2017)
Genre: Fiction

Plot: This novel explores questions of love and choice, disappointment and hope in the lives of two strangers who meet by chance in a story that unfolds over one Thanksgiving Day.

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?”
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.”

Purchase Links: HarperCollins * IndieBound * Barnes & Noble * Amazon

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.

Source: I was provided a copy of Start Without Me by the publisher and TLC Book Tours for review purposes. You can visit other stops on the tour and read the reviews by clicking below:

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

Things that went wrong on Thanksgiving

Although I followed the directions, the turkey was not cooked in the middle;

Paula Deen’s potatoes would simply not mash (my mother said I should have relied on Mark Bittman instead, which is true, especially given that I have met him and supplied the rest of the family with HTCE);

The stuffing tasted good but didn’t hold together;

The sourdough bread was delicious but was frozen in the middle (I blame this on Wholefoods because again I followed the directions);

The salad was wilted (luckily, no one seemed interested in salad);

The items my mother prepared – her special spinach and sour cream apple pie – were delicious.

I made the first fire in my fireplace and it set off the smoke detector – and the home security system! (yes, I should have waited until the chimney man came to look at the flue; now I know it really does need that missing lever);

I swear I used every plate and every pot in the house, which was a problem because

The brand new disposal resented all the potato peelings and sent them back up the other side of the sink - every time I ran it or used the dishwasher;

The rod in the coat closet (a nice wooden one) broke due to the weight of the coats;

There was more, but these are the highlights.

Luckily, my parents are the opposite of critical, and didn't even complain about the frigid house.

Gun control

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the gun ban case from the District of Columbia, and Linda Greenhouse points out that this will make gun control a more important issue in the presidential election. I wonder if the politicians who will be most outspoken on this issue really want to be walking around the District if guns there become more prevalent?







And here is a lovely photo, courtesy of the Washington Post, of our fearless leader discussing Thanksgiving with a close friend...