January 23, 2023
Simpson (Casebook) follows the paths of three siblings after their mother’s mental health breakdown in her well-drawn latest. After Walter Aziz, the oldest, leaves Los Angeles to attend UC Berkeley, Diane, a single mother, overwhelmed by the depression that has stalked her for most of her life, stops going to work and eventually signs herself into a psychiatric hospital, leaving behind Walter’s sister, Lina, a high school senior, and younger brother, Donnie. As their mother’s best friend steps up to take care of the children, they grapple with how to proceed. Lina works in an ice-cream shop and wants to head east for college; Walter, having discovered a passion for architecture, questions whether he can pursue a field in which aesthetics are valued above utility; and Donnie drifts aimlessly along Southern California’s beaches. Their mother’s breakdown distances them emotionally from their peers. Walter, invited to attend a sorority party on campus, gives his regrets, overwhelmed by a sense of obligation to his family: “I have a smaller world now.” Lina, meanwhile, envies the “breeziness” exuding from the homes of her more stable friends. Simpson foregoes surprises or dramatic turns, drawing readers instead with deep and tender considerations of her characters, as they’re forced to learn hard truths while still in the prime of their youths. Fans of family chronicles will not be disappointed.
Starred review from August 1, 2023
Simpson (Casebook) offers a haunting story of a family in the 1970s unmoored by mental illness. Diane Aziz, a single mother of three, has held herself together for 18 years, but after dropping her eldest son Walter off at UC Berkeley, she is overwhelmed by depression. Diane signs herself into a psychiatric institution, leaving her younger children, Lina and Donnie, to deal with the fallout--lack of supervision, financial resources, and stability. Award-winning narrator Xe Sands conveys Lina's and Donnie's stories as they exit high school, revealing their innermost thoughts about inheriting their mother's depression, the weight of familial duties, shame over their fraught circumstances, and hope for the future. Despite their many trials, Simpson offers a triumphant story grounded by the siblings' deep love for one another. VERDICT Listeners should not expect dramatic crises but a compelling and searing story about resilience, community, and the enduring bonds of family. Sands will have listeners hanging on to her every gently narrated word. Recommended for fans of Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain or Mary Beth Keane's Ask Again, Yes.--Laura Stein
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