Written somewhat in the style of a bird field guide, this is essentially a set of flash fiction stories you have to put together in your mind to figure out what happens to two seemingly conventional middle-class families: the Harrisons and the Hungates, neighbors on Long Island. Frank Harrison dies suddenly in 2008, and the Hungates divorce soon after. Their son Gabe devotes much of his high school years to drug-taking before an accident lands him in a burn unit. Here he’s visited by his girlfriend, Lacey Harrison. Her little brother, Tommy, is a compulsive liar but knows a big secret his late father was keeping from his wife.

The chapters, each just a pargraph or two, are given alphabetical, cross-referenced headings and an apparently thematic photograph. For example, “Entertainment,” one of my favorite stand-alone pieces, opens “In the beginning was the Television. And the Television was large and paneled in plastic made to look wood. It dwelled in a dim corner of the living room and came on for national news, Cosby, Saturday cartoons, and football.”

This is a Franzen-esque take on family dysfunction and, City on Fire, is best devoured in large chunks at a time so you don’t lose momentum: as short as this is, I found it easy to forget who the characters were and had to keep referring to the (handy) family tree at the start. Ultimately I found the format just a little silly, and the photos often seem to bear little relation to the text. It’s interesting to see how this idea evolved into the mixed-media sections of City on Fire, which is as epic as this is minimalist, though the story line of this novella is so thin as to be almost incidental.

Favorite lines:
“Depending on parent genotype, the crossbreeding of a Bad Habit and Boredom will result in either Chemistry or Entertainment.”

“Though hardly the most visible member of its kingdom, Love has never been as endangered as conservationists would have us believe, for without it, the Family would cease to function.”

“In light of all that’s happened to these poor folks in little over a year, you have to be feeling pretty good looking around the dinner table at your own loved ones. Divorce and estrangemment have never entered your home, nor has the misery of a prolonged hospitalization.”art-books novellas requested-from-publisher ...more17 s Rebecca Johnson142

I want to this more than I did. As an artwork, it was stunning. As a book, less so. flower-st-book-club7 s Sara1,200 53

Book Review

A vicious predator waiting for a vulnerability in the under belly of a novel.
See: Fiction, Experimental - Novel - Observations, Literary

Fiction, Experimental

Gabe focuses on his art. His broken family stares at him, encouraging but uncomprehending. Elizabeth tries to be the woman she should have been, would have been, if suburbia and all it's tentacles hadn't clawed their way into her soul. Jackie has a world in her head far better than the world outside the window that stares out at the neat rows of houses. Lacey knows the truth, it has to be the truth. Thomas has a secret. A story has been told in paragraphs, vignettes, photographs. To be read in any order, all of it a circle of civilization in Long Island - A field guide to the North American family.

See Book Reviews - Fiction, Experimental - Hallberg, Garth Risk - Novels - Observations, Literary - Storytelling

Observations, Literary

A story told in a non-traditional method, by what could almost be called diary entries from an unknown observer. There is no defined plot, merely an unfolding of the situation of two next door neighbors who have their own dark secrets and their own coping mechanisms in a world that should be picture perfect but, all lives, is messy and ugly and disturbing and difficult. This work turns you into a voyeur, is fun to look at, pretty to hold, but ultimately leaves you dissatisfied as the threads do not tie into knots and the heroes become anti-heroes that cannot inspire you.

See also - Book Reviews - Fiction, Experimental - Quirkiness - Short Novella - WTF?
novels-and-shorts the-unusual5 s W.B.Author 4 books124

(I have a different edition than the hardcover pictured above).

A multi-perspective, multiply-narrated tale told both acerbically and tenderly at once, this field guide seeks to pin down what the "North American family" really is. It's a bit the Sufi parable of the blindfolded men running their hands over an elephant and coming up with drastically different answers as to what the beast under their fingers actually is. It all depends on where you are making contact with the thing. Each character in this book is struggling to find his or her place. The few characters who are (or seem) comfortable in their own skin are soon cast adrift because of the ones who are not comfortable in theirs. So stability degenerates into a sort of productive chaos shaping the lives of the two neighboring families (the Hungates and the Harrisons) who are the subject of this mock field-guide.

In fair Long Island where we lay our scene...

Well, there is young love between the neighboring houses, and there is tragedy, but you have to figure out the "plot" (horrible word in the 21st century, right?) by piecing together the fragmentary confessions given you in a series of short paragraphs, some of which move towards being prose poems. Ultimately, this accretes into a novella, a tale that still feels a spiral accretion disk in outer space, turning slowly, showing you everything and nothing.

The author invites you to read the book in whichever fashion you choose. You can read it straight through. You can use the cross-referencing thematic codes given with each confessional ( "adulthood" or "privacy") to find where the dots might connect. Or you can jump around randomly. He's right. It will pretty much get you to the same end place with the story. But in rereading the book in different orderings, you might end up with different sympathies, different antipathies. This reminds us that what a family is, is actually all in the telling of the tale. This is the quantum side of the picture.

The edition I have has photographs by just under fifty contemporary photographers, each of whom has contributed one photograph to loosely illustrate the installment in the tale to which his or her work has been placed opposite, en face.

Hallberg writes a gritty prose that reminds me more than a little bit of Frank Stanford's poetry. The author wants to remind us that most of his characters are quietly imploding most of the time.

"You'd seen him when they wheeled him in, you would have said forty-eight hours, or maybe seventy-two at the outside. Even under the sheet on the gurney, you could tell from the way the fluids had begun to seep, the way grease from a cheesesteak will turn the bag almost clear where it has soaked through." (from "LOVE")

"That became their thing, I guess, because sometimes after practice, when the locker room had emptied out, I would catch a glimpse of her all alone in the shower stall, with these wild designs all done in marker on the hidden spaces of her abdomen, the ones that don't show when your clothes are on." (from "INTIMACY")

"The pantheon of name-brand pharmaceuticals, poets of a dead tongue: Valium, Lithium, Xanax and Zoloft, Paxil and Prozac. Allegra, Viagra, Claritin, Clarinex, Retsin and Ritalin. The shelf in the medicine chest stuffed with Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca. The horizons huffing opens up: gasoline, whipped cream, permanent markers, airplane glue and airbrush propellant. (from "CHEMISTRY")

The fractured tale told by this book in the form of thrown-down yarrow stalks is ultimately a dark one shot through with glints sunplay on water surface. Hallberg leaves the work its dark, natural places. These are where the reader's mind can wander, breathe, fear. These are the places in the novella where resemblance might make worrisome but cathartic suggestions.







2 s Matthew Ritter29 1 follower

What we have here is a uniquely organized rough sketch of two suburban families. As the title suggests, the novella is in the form of an alphabetized reference guide to North American families. (Nothing about the book suggests Canadian culture was a consideration in its design. It seems, rather, the author preferred the grand sweep of the term 'North American' over whatever coastal US neighborhood the story approximates).

Each entry contains a page or less (one entry does bleed onto the second page) of text with some relevance to the entry's title (i.e. guideword). Titles include Adolescence, Partings (amicable and acrimonious), Fidelity, Irony, Youth, etc. Unfortunately, some of the narratives bear little to no relation to the title above it. An artsy photo flanks every entry. As with the text, some of the photos' relevance to the adjacent subject matter is overt and others remaining mysterious. Beneath the photos are pithy, fortune-cookie-esque commentary on the Guidewords. These are intriguing and, generally, spot on. Divorce's caption is, "Due to a growth curve similar to that of Depression, a robust Divorce population has become common wherever Love dwells in large numbers."

Frustratingly, some entries are entirely too cute and, therefore, represent missed opportunities. For instance, Habits, Good has redacted text followed by, "There is no such thing as a good habit." This isn't in keeping with the earnestness most of the entries clearly exhibit.

The book, then, is microfiction woven together. There are multiple narrators, each of the four highlighted family members penning their own entries. Also included are a few unnamed characters (presumably neighbors, coworkers, or peers) and a few authoritative third-person types.

The design gives the work an impressionist rendering of a subject (suburban life) his audience knows well. The hardest hitting entries are bleakly realistic, an unholy marriage of Raymond Carver's concision with Richard Yates' pessimism. To the author's credit (and the reader's relief) some sweetness is folded in, such as brief homages to Fidelity and Tenderness. The author adds just enough sugar in the dash of redemptive behavior of these pitiable characters to counteract the pervasive bitterness of contemporary disenchantment. (Aside: this subject--the bursting of America's dreamy optimistic bubble--is hackneyed, I recognize. I'll admit I'm a sucker for it. Doesn't every generation reserve the right to chronicle its own disappointment, even if its own disappointment has the same roots as its parents' and its parents' parents' disappointment?)

Field Guide feels incomplete. It will leave you wanting more. You'll want to know more about these families, how they fell together and apart. You'll want the yawning gaps to be filled in, if only partially. Moreover, because of this book's contrived brevity, you'll be curious to see if the seed of cultural derision can grow into a more looming critical creature. I'm not surprised that Hallberg's next work is slated to be a 900+ page novel. I imagine he's eager to dispel any suspicions he's unable to craft a cohesive, consistent narrative.2 s Beth259

Concept - 5 stars
Visual - 5 stars
Prose - 5 stars
Story development - 2 stars

The overall concept of this novella is stunning. I really d the micro storytelling which is thoughtful and clever; however, ultimately, there is no progression. The reader is afforded glimpses of the characters and their story, almost as if through neighborhood gossip which by the middle seemed sufficient but, in the end, left me unsatisfied. I desperately want to rate this book higher but I feel a bit empty at its conclusion. fiction2 s Lisa272 10

I have really enjoyed hybrid narrative books since I discovered them about ten years ago. This one tells the story of a family, but its format is a wildlife guide. The result is a startling look at the tragedy of suburbia.

I do think the book would be improved (and truer to the guidebook format) by being in full-color, but it's important to note that I also received an advance copy from the publisher (shout-out to Goodreads and Alfred A. Knopf) so it's possible that this is the reason for my book being in black and white.2 s Michael Bohli1,107 43

Garth Risk Hallberg hat mit "City On Fire" bewiesen, dass er verschiedene Medien und Geschichten zu einem epischen Werk verbinden kann. Bei "A Field Guide To The North American Family" ging er noch andere Wege und versuchte eine auf Einblicke reduzierte Geschichte mit Kunstwerken zu ergänzen. Das Buch wurde wie ein Wörterbuch gestaltet, pro Eintrag eine Doppelseite mit kurzem Text und einer Fotografie, und kann in irgendwelcher Reihenfolge gelesen werden.

Der grosse Spass daran ist, dass sich die kurze Geschichte über zwei Familien in einem typischen, amerikanische Vorort bei jedem Leser auf andere Weise entfaltet und sich erst langsam zu einem stimmigen Bild entwickelt. Die Lücken und einzelnen Verbindungen sind genauso wichtig, wie das wirklich beschriebene. Nur leider kann sich der geschriebene Text selten gegen die Kunst und die Seitengestaltung behaupten und "A Field Guide ..." bleibt somit eher ein Betrachtungsbuch, als eine fesselnde Geschichte. 20181 Michelle247 11

Initially I was intrigued by the innovative structure of this book (it mimics the format of a field guide), but the novelty quickly wore off. The most disappointing missed opportunity for me is the descriptors and cross-referenences at the end of each chapter (one example below):

Whatever: This peculiar breed combines characteristics of Irony and Resignation in a more compact frame. Impact studies on Whatever have yet to be undertaken. SEE ALSO: Depression, Angst, Fidelity, Freedom, Guilt, Material, Maturity, Recognition

There is so much opportunity in these little blurbs for richness and resonance and keen observations, but most of them are glib and superficial. The overall impression I have of this novella is that of a disjointed, slapdash, half-finished effort. There were moments of piercing clarity and emotion but not enough to break through. I do love the mixed-media approach of incorporating handwritten texts and beautiful photographs.1 Christopher Farrell437 2

I find it interesting that after writing the glorious tome of City on Fire that Hallberg decided to take a jump into some short experimental fiction. It's a beautifully written, vaguely haunting look at the all American family, and it is well worth the constant page flipping and skimming. While I hope for more full fiction from Hallberg, this was a fascinating read and well worth the wait. 1 James138 67

The text only gets 3 stars but the presentation earns an extra one.1 Jenny174 3

Regular story, very interesting format. The story is told through references and cross references, illustrated by a series of photographs that didn't always land with me. You can read cover to cover or follow the references until you circle around to everything. I skipped around, following the trail here and there, flipping to a random page which caught my eye, and sometimes reading a few consecutive pages.

Fun way to read, similar to the Chose your own Adventure books1 Mel709 50

Anyone remember "Choose Your Own Adventure" books? This is those, with adult topics and laid out an encyclopedia. Alphabetical snippets under titles Divorce, Love, Youth, Innocence, entangle the Harrison and Hangate families. Perspectives switch but so does chronology. I read pages both at random and in order, engaged not only by photo illustrations but also the messy life Hallberg laid on the page.

I'm a forever fan. favorites1 Tom Scott360 6

It's not exactly a novella, or a collection of short stories, or a photo book. But it's also not not any of those things either. Basically it's an art book written a bit a bird field guide but about two families in suburban Long Island. As you read every entry (in whatever order you want, just a field guide) a few stories emerge. It doesn't take too long to read so it was fun to slow down and go with the experience.
1 Jennifer751 42

I loved the concept of this book -- which is kind of a multimedia story of two families. Each set of two pages has some text that gives a piece of the story and a photograph that illustrates that element. The book is set up as a guidebook to family life and is organized with keywords and topics.

The problem I found is that the story of the two families didn't really have enough meat on its bones to really captivate me. 1 Dave371 14

It's a modern As I Lay Dying. This is nice idea and a high degree of difficulty which the author pulls off. However, it was just too pretentious both the author and the people involved. I'm fine with the loose plot and looser resolution. The entries' and pictures really worked. But too self-assured.
new-lit1 Laura369

The premise of this book is very clever --- an illustrated series of vignettes which can be read in any order. I read the book in a completely random order, and the plot was revealed as promised. However, the story was very dark and pessimistic, which made the book far less enjoyable. I would to see this concept applied to a “lighter” plot.1 Clint Smallwood136

I wish there was more meat to this story, but otherwise it was a neat experimental storytelling devicemodern-fiction short-story1 Kristine3,245

A Field Guide to the North American Family by Garth Risk Hallberg is a free Goodreads FirstReads advanced reader copy of a paperback book that I read in late November.

There are two different ways to navigate this Modern Art treatise of two families - the 'regular' way or following the dot-matrix font See Also's. It offers very academic, tipped-up nose prose, but with witty nods to the present day (keggers, Nintendo, prescription meds), and single-subject photos on ink spatters, fretted paperstock, and in darker tints to evoke bleakness.amazon-reviewed first-reads1 Meredith28 1 follower

Not so much a novel, more a series of intercomnected page-long stories . . . but strangely compelling and with beautiful phtographs to illustrate each.1 Janna Craig541 4

2.75 stars

Hmmm...interesting concept, but the execution was somewhat lacking, in my opinion. What made me pick up this book was actually the cover. It’s that gorgeous soft cover stock that feels halfway between paperback and hardcover. I almost want to own this book just for that cover.

And then concept was interesting, mimicking the style of a wildlife guidebook, with cross references and everything. And I love the idea of reading a book out of order by following the cross references through the book instead of page by page chronologically. Of course, my tidy little soul wouldn’t allow me to read the book out of order, but it was a fun idea. Although, joke’s on me, because this book isn’t written chronologically anyhow.

But getting to the content. Basically, this book is a series of vignettes centering around two neighboring families in Suburbia USA. I really d the vignettes individually. But for me, the story as a whole didn’t hold together well. I was okay with the disorienting way that time and perspective jumped around among at least 8 characters and about 2-ish years. Took me several pages to figure out what the heck was going on, but it kept my interest.

I guess maybe I was just expecting a bigger payoff for my time. , some sort of denouement or reveal or something. But in the end, it just felt a bunch of loosely related stories. And maybe that’s what the author was going for. It wasn’t bad; I just didn’t love it. Brent Woo315 17

Eh. A fun format and nice full-color word+photog visual experience. But what's the word for the gary stus of tragedy? Yeesh, this comes off as a pessimistic checklist compiling as many 'dysfunctional' hot topics as possible. The cynicism grates quickly, with pithy takes "fidelity is a lesser-known relative", "there is no such thing as a good habit", "members of this dying breed [those with integrity]", or "optimism is enormous at birth, and gradually shrinks to its adult size". They might be true, I don't really know, but I think a closer meditation on one, or a few of these, might be more effective then trying to just toss out a ton of 'everything sucks' scenes within such a short span.

This was a cool format though and I'm reminded of other 'mixed lit' (?) that I have, A Passage to Shambhala that I'm interested in exploring.

Oh whoa, you can insert book covers? Neat.

Elizabeth12

I find myself returning to this book frequently, which is rare for me, considering I seldom re-read books. It is quick, easy, interesting, and have a variety of ways this novella can be explored. The artwork and concept is un any other book I have read. Each time I read it, I discover something new, or create a new connection that I hadn't previously. The story creates a sense of longing and melancholy that can only come from reality. Gaining an insight into these two families, each with their own brokenness and problems feels extremely intimate. I remember reading this book when I was still in high school and it quickly becoming my favorite book. I have taken it everywhere with me, and displayed it on every desk and bookshelf. It is accessible and quick to read a few stories, look at a few pictures, and not have to complete the entire book. It made a profound impact on me, and while I wish their were bits of the story and characters that I wish were a bit more developed, I still have to give it 5 stars for the experience and shaping on my life that it has done for me. It inspired me to format some of my writings in a similar way, and I have created art projects that derive inspiration from this novella. I already can't wait to re-read this again. Downward1,140 17

sort of a deeply cynical and ugly take on the american family and all its many flaws, decrying the lost sense of wonder and closeness that families USED TO HAVE, and then tries to back away from it all with some unearned sentimentality about vulnerability and youth. and yet there's something to the recursive, choose-your-own-adventure, oulipean structure that mimics a field guide for, , birding I guess? anyway, it's segmented into a nonlinear story about two separate families who - ordinary families - suffer the indignities of familial drama. Each of these segments is labeled with a generic cliche about family hood: Nature Vs. Nurture; Tantrum; Mid-life Crisis; etc. If there had been some earned emotional hope breathed into this, the structure could have saved it, but it's only structure. you've got a skeleton but no circulatory system. there's no blood. Sarah Bauer313 7

Book Theme Song: Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead

If you're looking for a plot, you're in the wrong place. But that's not a bad thing. I read this book straight through, but you can read it in any order. I find this style of writing fascinating. While it can be hard to tell whose point of view some of the entries are written in, it's still possible to piece together an idea of the story through the entries in this fictional field guide. And the entries speak about concepts and issues that many people in modern American society will deeply relate to. Despite our veneer of civilization and domesticity, we aren't immune to the harshness of the world. And our suburban environment brings its own dangers as well. The field guide format defamiliarizes the American neighborhood in a clever way. favorites Amy Curtiss179 6

I d this, even though it was very dark. I think if it were a true “field guide” we may have seen some of the humor in the life of the North American family. However, since it really was a reference referring to only two specimens it was limited to their unique attributes. Pretty awesome way to read a good piece of short fiction, I used some of the cross references, but mostly read straight through. Very effectively communicated the characters feelings in short vignettes, I found the two families to be compelling, and mostly a good sampling of the species, although of course the plumage was monochromatic. Esther799 25

Pulled from my heaving tbr pile. No memory of where or why I got this, but fortunately it was an excellent read. Its set up as a series of vignettes which you can read in any order. There are 'see also' references to other vignettes so you can pursue one particular narrative thread - or do as I did and just read from cover to cover. It covers two neighboring families in Long Island NY and a series of events which unfold - marriage, childhood, divorce, rebellion, love, sibling rivalry etc. Each entry is accompanied by a photograph giving some of the vignettes extra poignancy or bite. Thought at first I might find this gimmicky, but it was really well constructed and written. Renee1,589 24

One of the most cleverly written books I've read this year, filled with 60 or so one page vignettes accompanied with a pictures that vaguely describe two Long Island families that coexisted peacefully in the neighborhood, enjoying the pleasures and weathering the pitfalls of their suburban habitat. But when the patriarch of one family dies unexpectedly, the survivors face a stark imperative: adapt or face extinction.
This book has been described as a brilliantly designed and crafted book; it just did not move me as it did the mass readers. Jayna499 1 follower

There are three or four sections that are solid five stars. However, my overall enjoyment is a 3-3.5. I think that this is a solidly innovative and creative piece of literature. I think it has very poignant moments. However, the unique format does lend itself to some moments of confusion trying to recall which parents belong to which children, as well as it does not allow you to have any emotional connection to any character. Additionally, this leaves many many unanswered questions out there.

The chapter headings that I LOVEd were: Entertainment, Freedom, and Intimacy. deep family friendship ...more Yanah87 7

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