Making Nice by Matt Sumell
Old Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher is attributed to saying “nice guys finish last” in 1946. If nice guys do, indeed, finish last, then the main character, Alby, in Making Nice is going to win every time. Alby is not nice. Alby is ruthless, vain, self-absorbed and violent. Frankly, he’s a major jerk. He is also hilarious, rude and offensive. I loved the guy.
As I got to know Alby through the series of vignettes that make up this novel, I realized he may be misunderstood. He meticulously cares for a baby bird he finds. Jerks don’t take care about baby birds.
Families are living, growing, ever changing entities and outsiders can never really judge what happens within them. What happens In Family, stays In Family. Author Matt Sumell has created a colorful portrait of a dysfunctional family and the love that exists within it. Alby may be one heck of a total jerk, but he’s also a brother, a son and a friend. I may not always agree with my own family, but in the end, Family is Family.
This book is about Family and I loved it. Alby and all.
Sumell has given readers an exciting new voice in modern fiction.
Dan @ Central