Publisher: The Friday Project
ISBN: 9780007441402
Format: Hardback
Pages: 270
Genre: Fiction, Quirky Fiction
Publication Date: January 3, 2013
Please note that this review refers to an uncorrected advanced proof edition.
SYNOPSIS
The Weirds had always been a little bit peculiar, but not one of them suspected that they’d been cursed.
At the moment of their birth Annie Weird gave each of her five grandchildren a special power that she thought was a blessing. Richard, the oldest, would always keep safe; Abba always had hope; Lucy would never get lost and Kent could beat anyone in a fight. As for Angie, she would always forgive, instantly. But over the years these blessing turned out to be curses that ruined their lives.
Now Annie is dying and she has one last task for Angie, her favourite grandchild. Angie must gather her far-flung brothers and sisters and assemble them in her grandmother’s hospital room so that at the moment of her death, Annie can lift these curses.
And Angie has just three weeks to do it.
The Weirds had always been a little bit peculiar, but not one of them suspected that they’d been cursed.
At the moment of their birth Annie Weird gave each of her five grandchildren a special power that she thought was a blessing. Richard, the oldest, would always keep safe; Abba always had hope; Lucy would never get lost and Kent could beat anyone in a fight. As for Angie, she would always forgive, instantly. But over the years these blessing turned out to be curses that ruined their lives.
Now Annie is dying and she has one last task for Angie, her favourite grandchild. Angie must gather her far-flung brothers and sisters and assemble them in her grandmother’s hospital room so that at the moment of her death, Annie can lift these curses.
And Angie has just three weeks to do it.
REVIEW
New Year’s always does strange things to me. No matter how many times I tell myself that I don’t care about doing something special on New Year’s Eve and that there’s no real significance or rational function behind all my menial preparations to start the year off “right”, I still find myself running around my flat like a mad person during the last few days of December.
While I hate myself every year for the now expected annual irrational cleaning spree, there is one tradition that I actually quite enjoy adhering to: the selection of the first book to read to start off my year.
This is of vital importance to me. I know it’s silly, but books are a huge part of my life. It doesn't exactly revolve around books (though there might be some argument for that), but books do influence and shape my ideas, passions and sometimes my current outlook on life. So choosing the first of the year means a lot to me. It sets the tone and the expectations I have for the following months.
That’s the reason why I put off reading this book for the past few weeks. As much as my fingers craved to pick up the lovely proof copy, I couldn't think of a more ideal choice that filled me with as much anticipation and excitement and there is nothing quite like the pleasure of discovering that a new book is being published by one of your favourite authors.
Andrew Kaufman’s newest novel is a blursing. Fast becoming my new favourite word, it means exactly what it sounds like; it’s both a blessing and a curse. Born Weird is a blessing because it’s 270 pages of the most enjoyable and madcap writing I've ever had the privilege to read and a curse because I very much doubt I'm going to find something I love more than this book over the next 12 months.
What I love most about the novel is how Kaufman managed to impart each sibling with a unique interpretation of his or her gift. The introductions to each character serve as whimsical side stories that explore how each individual has allowed their ‘blursing’ to dictate their life and define their peculiar personalities. I won’t spoil anything for you since a lot of the addictiveness of the story lies in the unveiling of each curse’s manifestation, but they’re ingenious and wonderfully imagined; even the ones whose outcomes are somewhat predictable.
Andrew Kaufman is an extremely gifted storyteller. I admire his ability to imbue tiny touches of the unusual to otherwise mundane, realistic settings. He gives the everyday, the commonplace occurrences that make up our daily lives, life. That little sprinkle of strange is that little bit extra that livens up what could have been an ordinary family drama into a fantastic modern day tall-tale that doesn't feel out of place or farfetched. It makes you wish you had a little bit more of that same quirkiness lurking in your life. If, like me, you feel by the end of the book that you really want some more of that same magic to brighten up your life, I recommend seeking out his brilliant novella, All My Friends Are Superheroes. It’s one of my personal favourites to read whenever I feel a bit gloomy. It’s Andrew Kaufman just weirdly being weird and weirdly doing well and I hope that never changes. *
*This last sentence may not sound right or even make much sense, but I assure you once you've read the book you will all see how exceedingly witty and clever it really is. That or how cheesy it is.
Short and Sweet: The Twitter Review
The perfect personification of peculiar, Born Weird is a charming tall-tale: Eccentric, comical and with just the right amount of heart.
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