Nuclear Family by Susanna Fogel
Nuclear Family: a Tragicomic Novel in Letters by Susanna Fogel is an exploration of one family’s life over several decades in letters sent to one relative, Julie. Julie herself never actually appears in the novel and although it’s possible to know things that are going on in her life, we never actually get to see Julie’s inner thoughts or truly understand her. Because of that, this novel is a brilliant exploration of the way our families can see the things that are going on in without truly understanding each other.
Even though we don’t know much about Julie, we get to know a lot about her family. There’s her mother, a clingy psychologist who often overshares about her youth in a seemingly desperate attempt to reclaim it. Her father is a former child prodigy who has not escaped that mindset and frequently tries to run Julie’s life for her. Her sister, Jane, is bouncing between retail jobs and new boyfriends and is often the only character actually supporting what Julie wants to do. The novel also features letters and notes from unexpected characters like a treadmill and that creepy older guy who is friends with your father and who is always trying to “advance your career.”
This novel was a fun, quick read and is able to dip into deeper issues, such as Julie’s early eating disorder, without stopping the momentum or completely changing the tone of the book. Fogel brilliantly straddles the line between the sad realities of life and the small, comic things that happen to everyone. These two elements together make this book truly seem like a chronicle of a real life and a real family, which might be because part of it is taken from Fogel’s own life. Nuclear Family is definitely worth a read and, despite its sadder moments, is an overall uplifting read that left me wishing for more at the end.