We Are Not Ourselves - Matthew Thomas

I have to hand it to Matthew Thomas. This book was long. Very long. But the writing throughout was really superb. We are Not Ourselves follows the lives of Eileen, Ed and Connell Leary (again sorry for spelling, I listened to the audio version). Eileen's story begins in her childhood and continues through her meeting and marriage to Ed, and the eventual birth of Connell. 

It would seem no detail of Eileen's life is too small to be left out. Which ultimately is the major flaw of this otherwise engaging novel. There's just too much. Connell becomes a narrator of the story in his own write as he reaches adolescence and then further on into his young adulthood. The book ultimately became more interesting after Ed is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. The story becomes tragic and engrossing. And yet, throughout the entire book, Ed remains the character with the most redeeming qualities. Eileen and Connell are selfish and flawed. Eileen does eventually let go of much of this, but never quite when you want her to. 

Ultimately the characters feel very real. They don't learn life lessons well, or sometimes at all, but never when you want them to, and never in a way that feels like satisfaction. The length of the book was its biggest drawback as the unnecessary details kept me from really falling into the book and getting lost in it. Had it not been for a long vacation car ride, I'd probably still be reading it.

3/5 Stars.