Sophia C. reviewed on 7/19/2014 + 289 more book reviews

This book had a lot of promise for a good family drama. Julia, an art professor, has her aging parents in her Maine summer residence when she gets word that her younger son Jack might have a problem with heroin. However, Roxana Robinson splits the focus between Jack--is he really an addict? how do we get him help?--with deep-seated family tensions. The title 'cost' might not just refer to the physical, economic, or social toll of drugs, but the re-visiting of tensions within this family that includes a domineering patriarch, his wife with the onset of dementia, a remarried ex-husband, a distant sister, and a reluctant older son. Robinson has a tendency to shift from one character's perspective to another suddenly within a chapter but the language is at times beautiful. I don't particularly like the characters as people (but that's not a criterion for rating the book as a whole) or the ending, but it was an engaging read from the list of 1001 books you must read before you die.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details