May We Be Forgiven by A M Homes

A long book about the breakdown of a successful TV executive, George, following a car accident.  George's brother, Harry, attempts to help his brother's wife and two children but this only leads to a further disaster, evidencing George's complete mental collapse. Ultimately, Harry struggles to keep George's family afloat as they deal with their father's breakdown.

The book is intended to be a darkly comic narrative about contemporary life and the strain it puts on our relationships and on individual bread winners.  However, I did not find it at all amusing and it went on very much longer than it really deserved.  Harry is a very strange character who is hard to get to know - his personality comes across as very fluid and therefore very difficult to relate to.  The fourth quarter of this book is definitely the best as the children's characters are more developed and the plot picks up.  Overall, a slightly boring book with an odd story and bulky characters.