September 29, 2008

Review: Blue Genes by Christopher Lukas




Late one night Christopher (Kit) Lukas received a phone call with news that his brother, the gifted journalist J. Anthony Lukas, had committed suicide. Tragically their mother also committed suicide when they were young boys. Kit and his brother were never told how she died and no one spoke of the family’s history of depression and bipolar disorder. The legacy of guilt and grief haunted Kit and Tony throughout their lives.

Despite both brothers achieving remarkable success, Tony as a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, they suffered bouts of depression. Kit was able to confront his family’s troubled past and find happiness but Tony remained depressed which ultimately led him to take his own life.

Being that this book was a memoir I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters. It may have helped if I was familiar with Tony’s writing or felt some sort of connection to the brothers but the writing just didn’t pull me in. I feel this was more personal for Kit than a story that needed to be shared. I can see where the book might be helpful for anyone who has been affected by a loved one’s suicide but it just didn’t click for me.

4 comments :

Ladytink_534 said...

This sounds really depressing. Sorry you didn't like it.

caite said...

Not sure that I was quite as negative about the book as you...but almost. Yes, I had a similiar feeling about the book. Certainly, it is an interesting topic but no, it was hard to really connect with them and it really offered no answers, which was rather depressing.

Ali said...

I'm in the middle of this book and so far I share your sentiments--the author wrote it for his own peace of mind. And then used his connections to get it published. That's my main criticism of memoir as a genre, actually. Memoirs of famous people or their loved ones, in particular.

cheryl c said...

I don't think that I would like to read this book. I think it would be too depressing.