I can not speak for anyone but myself when I say that I found this book missing something. I checked it out of the library solely on the level of seeing different generations interact. I did see that in this book, but found most of them, save maybe Arlene, amazingly dull and shallow. I wonder if the writer would have been better off to focus on a smaller group, really getting to their deepest levels.I found myself becoming infuriated by the characters inability to say how they really feel. The dysfunction continues in this family because no one is willing to say what is bothering them, from the mother, to the alcoholic daughter, to the bitter wife. There is no conclusion in this book....just stories hanging in the wind.