4.0
Flesh and Blood
ByPublisher Description
This novel follows the Stassos family through four generations, as it is touched by ambition, love, violence, and the transforming effects of time.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities94 Reviews
4.0
Grace Blea
Created 6 months agoShare
Report
“2024: It did not take me 15 years to reread this. Only two. Haha. That's how good this book is. I knew when I reread it in 2022, that I wanted to teach it again should I ever teach the American Novels course again. So I did. And students loved it! I had an email from a student who wanted more books like it recommended to her, so I of course obliged.
This book is just so beautifully written. Cunningham is just one of the best writers working today. I think he's so underrated too. The Hours won the Pulitzer but then he just quietly faded from the mainstream again. But his work is still so good.
This re-read, I really liked Zoe. I originally found her to be sort of dull, but I think her characterization is so subtle, and there's something about her I find so captivating. She reminds me of my brother at certain moments and then of my mom too. I don't know. She feels familiar.
Cassandra is still fabulous. I feel like I've met Cassandra. I love the mother-daughter relationships she creates with Zoe and, to a certain extent, Mary. At times she feels a little bit like a caricature, but I think that's just her drag queen persona, perfectly wrought by a writer who's clearly known a Cassandra too.
I'm uncomfortable with the fat-phobic remarks regarding Magda. I can't tell if that's just a sign of the times (the 90s were fat-phobic as hell), Cunningham's own fat-phobia coming through (possibly as body dysmorphia is common in the gay community), or if it was an attempt to characterize Constantine, Will, and Susan, and their need to fit in to certain ideals (the American Dream, etc.). Whatever the case, I hated it.
2022: This book is still magnificent all these years later. I first read this in 2005 or 2006 at the recommendation of a close friend. I had seen The Hours and then read it but I was unprepared for how much BETTER this book is than Cunningham’s most famous work. The language is gorgeously wrought. The opening chapter remains one of the most memorable in my reading life. I still love Cassandra and want her in my life.
This time around, I don’t hate Constantine. I understand his motivations a little more than I did when I first read it. My heart hurts for Ben and Jamal. So much pain and loss.
Damn beautiful writing. Still one of my all time favorites. I’m so glad I reread it. Maybe in another 15 years I’ll pick it up again.”
Mb3018
Created 6 months agoShare
Report
Mathieuj
Created 7 months agoShare
Report
mathieuj
Created 7 months agoShare
Report
coolgalreading
Created 11 months agoShare
Report
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List