Written by Liz Boccolini
With Thanksgiving now behind us, many people gathered with family and friends to celebrate and connect and to remind themselves what they are most thankful in life. Since we’re still in the Thanksgiving spirit, here are five of the best books about family!
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
After their father dies, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret Dashwood, along with their mother, must leave their home and settle in a small cottage in Devonshire, England. While there, Marianne becomes infatuated with John Willoughby, and Elinor forms a shy friendship with and romantic interest in Edward Ferrars. Meanwhile, family friend Colonel Brandon falls quietly in love with Marianne. The story centers mostly on the oldest sisters, Elinor and Marianne, and follows them through love, friendship, and heartbreak. Though the sisters have their arguments, it is the strong bond between them and their mother that guides them through their turmoil and supports them in their happiness.
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
After inheriting his sister’s Australian sheep farm, Drogheda, Paddy Cleary moves his large family from New Zealand to take over the estate. The story focuses mainly on Meghann “Meggie” Cleary, the only daughter of the family. The Clearys find their footing running Drogheda and befriend the local priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart, who forms a friendship with Meggie. However, the Clearys find that life in remote Australia is unforgiving. They face numerous losses, and as Meggie gets older, her friendship with Ralph comes under scrutiny. Though Meggie eventually leaves Drogheda, she returns years later with her own children and is reunited with her family. The Clearys again face tragedy, but The Thorn Birds shows the power and importance of human connection in all stages of life.
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Marilla Cuthbert sends her brother, Matthew, to the train station to pick up the boy they will adopt to help them on their farm. But Matthew comes back instead with 11-year-old Anne Shirley, a passionate, excitable orphan who never stops talking. At first, Marilla wants to send Anne right back to the orphanage, but after a short time decides to keep her. Anne finds wonder in everything at Green Gables and in the town of Avonlea: the trees; her neighbor and best friend, Diana; and school and her classmates. Despite an early life fraught with difficulty, Anne finds a home and a family at Green Gables. “I’ve had a splendid time,” Anne says after returning from a trip with Diana, “and I feel that it marks an epoch in my life. But the best of it all was the coming home.”
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women might just be the ultimate book about family. The book follows the March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy and their mother, whom they call Marmee. While their father is serving as a pastor in the Civil War, the March women make the best of their situation. The girls especially love hearing the stories that Jo, an aspiring novelist, has written, acting out plays, attending meetings of the family “Pickwick Club,” and contributing to their family newsletter, “The Pickwick Portfolio.” The girls, especially Jo, immediately warm to their neighbor, Theodore Laurence, whom they call Laurie and whom Jo calls Teddy. Laurie essentially becomes part of the March family, and together they weather the storms of poverty, illness, and the struggles of achieving their respective goals. Throughout the book, the family remains close, loving, and supportive of one another. There are also two sequels to Little Women, which follow the March sisters as adults: Little Men and Jo’s Boys.
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
Almost all of Tan’s books center around family, usually focusing on the relationships between mothers and daughters. The Hundred Secret Senses takes a slightly different approach as it follows the evolving relationship between Olivia, an America born to Chinese parents, and her older half-sister, Kwan, who comes from China to live with Olivia and Olivia’s mother after the death of Olivia and Kwan’s father. At first, Olivia is embarrassed by Kwan and resents her because her English is poor and she does not “fit in” in America. Kwan tells Olivia that she has “yin eyes,” meaning that she can see ghosts and often speaks with them, which both frightens and annoys Olivia, as she is not sure if she believes her sister’s ghost stories.
Olivia and Kwan grow closer as adults, and Kwan plans a trip to China for the two of them and Olivia’s husband, Simon. Kwan takes the couple to her old village, Changmian, and communicates frequently with the ghost of her aunt, whom she called Big Ma. Many people in Changmian share Kwan’s beliefs about ghosts, and after spending time there, Olivia begins to shift her perspective. “Every once in a while, I wonder how things might have been between Kwan and me if she’d been more normal,” Olivia says. “Then again who’s to say what’s normal….Maybe there’s a place in the world where everyone has a sister with yin eyes.” While Olivia initially thinks that she and Kwan are two entirely different people, they come to know each other more fully and to understand each other. Through Kwan’s stories, they form a unique bond that will, according to Kwan, last forever.
