Little Miseries
Kimberly Olson Fakih
Jan 2023 · Open Road Media
Ebook
256
Pages
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About this ebook
"A lively and energetic account of growing up in the Midwest in the last century, in a variegated family assailed by disasters great and small." —Lynne Sharon Schwartz, author of Truthtelling
In the tradition of Mad Men and Rick Moody's The Ice Storm, Little Miseries captures an era of parental indifference, in which children were left to grow up on their own through tiny moments that both chipped away at their innocence and added to their resilience.
In 1960s Iowa, Kimmy Castle and her siblings are often left to their own devices, catching provocative glimpses of adulthood during cocktail parties, in school, and on the news. There are whispers of sex, a gym coach's bullying of her classmates, and horrific reports of local abductions and massacres. On the periphery of grown-up lives, Kimmy must try to make sense of her feelings as she navigates the so-called rules of their intoxicating—yet terrifying—world . . .
"Shows how catastrophic the secret world of grown-ups can truly be on the delicate web that is a family. Fakih's book, her first for adults, will appeal to anyone who looks back on their own childhood with a mixture of nostalgia and horror. Despite the book's unwieldy structure, it shows Fakih as a gifted chronicler of children's helplessness and familial angst." — Kirkus Reviews
"Little Miseries , indeed. But first there's joy, wonder and resiliency. Fakih lovingly captures the rapture and mysteries of childhood en reroute to a loss of innocence that is heartbreaking yet triumphant." —Michael H. Weber, Oscar-nominated screenwriter and co-writer of 500 Days of Summer
In the tradition of Mad Men and Rick Moody's The Ice Storm, Little Miseries captures an era of parental indifference, in which children were left to grow up on their own through tiny moments that both chipped away at their innocence and added to their resilience.
In 1960s Iowa, Kimmy Castle and her siblings are often left to their own devices, catching provocative glimpses of adulthood during cocktail parties, in school, and on the news. There are whispers of sex, a gym coach's bullying of her classmates, and horrific reports of local abductions and massacres. On the periphery of grown-up lives, Kimmy must try to make sense of her feelings as she navigates the so-called rules of their intoxicating—yet terrifying—world . . .
"Shows how catastrophic the secret world of grown-ups can truly be on the delicate web that is a family. Fakih's book, her first for adults, will appeal to anyone who looks back on their own childhood with a mixture of nostalgia and horror. Despite the book's unwieldy structure, it shows Fakih as a gifted chronicler of children's helplessness and familial angst." — Kirkus Reviews
"Little Miseries , indeed. But first there's joy, wonder and resiliency. Fakih lovingly captures the rapture and mysteries of childhood en reroute to a loss of innocence that is heartbreaking yet triumphant." —Michael H. Weber, Oscar-nominated screenwriter and co-writer of 500 Days of Summer
About the author
Kimberly Olson Fakih was born in Iowa and raised in Minnesota. She wrote two children's novels, High on the Hog and Grandpa Putter and Granny Hoe, before she wrote her first adult novel Little Miseries. She also wrote the lexicon Off the Clock and The Literature of Delight, a guide to funny books for kids. Fakih worked in publishing for many years as a freelance reviewer at the New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, and elsewhere. She is currently a senior book review editor at School Library Journal. Fakih lives in New York.
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