Really enjoyed both plot and character development.

Wow. Utter crap. Started very well in a nightmarish whirl of frightening events then steadily lost all impact and credibility. The main character described himself as having no feelings. A similarly empty feeling carried through to me as it progressed. Almost all characters were either unconvincing or dull. Events were either very odd or very dreary. Some parts were (intentionally, I believe) funny but this barely lifted it for me. It read like a strange detached dream with a swirl of Nixon obsession running through it. And what was that all about? To demonstrate idealist expectation versus muddled reality? Ouch. Extremely disappointed as felt This Book Will Save Your Life to be a charmer of a book. Surprised anyone published it. Clumsy. Boring. Awful.

Unusual and quirky book about tragedy and redemption.

Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish.

Highly recommended.

The story started out interesting, however it quickly evolved into a series of improbable, albeit hilarious events. The dynamic of the 'new' family was sweet. It is an enjoyable, well written novel.

So weird, and by the end I didn't find it weird at all. Is that weird?

A strangely-believable look at how unlikely groups of people become family. (Or, more obviously, what it means to be family.) It's as though the main character always said "yes" when confronted with the possibility of allowing others into his life, and it was interesting (if not moving) to watch the results.

This story opens Thanksgiving day and closes a year later on the same day. In a year the life of Harold Silver changes in ways hard to explain.

The story begins with Harold's brother George, the high-earning TV executive, plowing his car into another leaving two dead and an orphaned child. A few pages later, George murders his wife, when he breaks out of a hospital psych ward, makes his way home - his green hospital gown flapping in the wind - to find his wife in bed with brother Harold.

Harold narrates Franzen-like tale of life in the suburbs that pokes fun at modern American life - healthcare, education, prison, politics - nothing is off limits and nothing is too far-out. At one point Harold is playing laser-tag with the swinger's club; another he's accused of participating in an international arms deal gone bad. There's even cameo appearances by hysterical-realism grandfather, Don DeLillo.

In the end, Harold moves from his gray, drab life to one that is full, meaningful, and quite colorful. The story is hilarious, and full of out-there behaviors by each of the characters who move into Harold's life.