Book Log 2021 #30: The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Matthew King is, at first glance, your stereotypical semi-absent father. He works more than he should, and relies on his wife to manage their daughters and other domestic issues. That this may not have been the best plan is revealed when his wife - an ex-model and adrenaline junkie - gets into an accident during a powerboat race that leaves her in a coma. All at one, King discovers that he has two daughters who may be going off the rails - and that his wife was having an affair. It's the discovery of the affair, and they ways in which King and his daughters decide to address it in the context of their wife and mother's imminent demise, that powers this novel.

For a book about such a serious - and depressing - topic, the story is told with a fair amount of humor. It also helps that there's a secondary plot involving the King family's land holdings and their potential development. This provides another focus on the book's themes of family and what one owes to the people who came before (and will come after) them.

You may be familair with the movie based on this book, which stars George Clooney as King. I've not seen the film, but can very much recommend reading the novel.