WE ARE NOT OURSELVES

by Matthew Thomas
 

I think We Are Not Ourselves came to me by way of a friend who was cleaning out her shelves, that is to say, not specifically recommended.  It sounded good to me from the description of a young Irish-American girl growing up in New York City in the sixties. But the description was misleading, and the book was boring.
 
I quickly discovered, about 50 pages in, that this was not a coming of age story.  In fact most of the book takes place during the protagonist’s middle age.  In and of itself that is not bad, but she is depressed about her life, her neighborhood and her family, pretty much the whole time.  She is always looking for  something better and never appreciating what she has, and she does it in a very whiny way.
 
About halfway through the book, her son suddenly becomes a main character with chapters focusing solely on him. His story is a bit more interesting, but it's odd to suddenly have a second protagonist.
 
Finally, there is a big reveal about two-thirds of the way into the book about the husband, which I had figured out less than 100 pages in.  So overall, I would say this is not a book to waste your time on. (Lily)