Families, whether given or chosen, are chimeric creatures. They\u2019re difficult to describe in full, laden with temperaments, textures, and histories. I can\u2019t recall the last time I spoke to someone who described their family as anything other than dysfunctional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, perspective matters. The story of a family is dictated by whomever undertakes the task of explaining why their family is like that<\/em>. Depending on who\u2019s asked among my own relatives, my Great-Aunt Cindy is either a heretic or a saint (though we all agree she should stop picking fights online). Even when the Great-Aunt Cindys of our worlds are on their best behavior, other characters emerge with their own brand of trouble, which we\u2014often to our chagrin, sometimes to our delight\u2014must help sort out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For me, the best family portraits in fiction strike this balance: chaos outpaced by deep-rooted love. Love so big that words must stretch to contain all its particularities. There is sadness and grief because there are always those things, but it\u2019s the love in these novels I remember, and that I hope other readers go looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n