The Good Life

"The Good Life" by Susan Kietzman is another of my new finds. An author I have never read before, I understand that she has completed 3 books till date.

"The Good Life" focuses on a super rich family and their life. 

Ann Barons is a glamorous lady married to successful businessman and CEO Mike. Their two children are Lauren and Nate.  The book is the story of the Baronses and their life.

Ann Barons comes across as a person who is obsessed with her looks and maintaining her figure. She spends her days working out, meeting friends and shopping. Mike seems like a nice guy, but fully involved in his business and nothing else. The first glance also shows the kids as spoilt brats of rich parents.

Ann and Mike believe they have the perfect life. Their idyll is threatened by a phone call when Ann's mother calls her desperate for help. Ann's mother, Eileen, struggles alone with her husbands dementia and Is increasingly finding it difficult to handle Sam's delusions and forgetfulness. She arranges for them to get accommodated at Meadowbrook, an assisted-living community. However, they need to wait for a few months before they can move into Meadowbrook.

Eileen requests Ann if they can move in for a few months with Ann and her family. Ann who doesn't want her current life to disrupted also finds to difficult to say 'No'. Ann soon begins to resent her mother's presence and the changes it causes in her life. She feels that her mothers presence highlights her failings.

I liked the story and the way each character developed in the book. Initially, I was a bit put-off by the lack of feeling and irritation tht the entire family showed at the news of Eileen's and Sam's brief stay. The book showcases Ann as a superficial person who is only interested in shopping, showing off her money and losing weight. She comes across as materialistic and highly selfish person who is only concerned about herself and no one else including her own children.

The entire family seemed to be disconnected and living in a home like strangers till the arrival for Eileen and Sam. While Eileen in certain instances seems to be a bit thick-skinned, her interference and nature of elbowing into the Baronses house, seems to have been the one thing that made this family of four strangers a bit more closer and more family-like.

The kids, Lauren and Nate grow on you, as they spend time, learn and do things with their grandparents. Even Mike, the workaholic finds time to spend dome fun moments with his children. The issues that Ann faces are not fully resolved but at least she realized that she has issues.

"The Good Life" was a satisfying read and beautifully written. It was difficult for me to really absorb that in the complexities and trivialities of life, so much distance can crop up between families, between parents and their children. In this case, the distance in the relationship of Ann with her parents and of Nate and Lauren with their parents.

Another aspect that I liked about the story was that it touched lightly upon the concept of "Good Life". While Ann believes she has a good life, the reader can understand that though she has money there are too many underlying issues and dissatisfaction. In fact, it seems as though, through money Ann is trying to prove to herself that life is good and she is satisfied with life. But towards the end of the book, she understands that she is not fully happy and that she needs to find the balance she is looking for.

I wasn't very happy with the way the book ended. It left me a bit unsatisfied and I wasn't ready to let go of Nate and Lauren. So I would have to give a rating of 4 on 5 for "The Good Life"