''Did You Ever Have a Family'' is the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

by American literary agent and author Bill Clegg, published in 2015.

Plot summary

The novel focuses on June Reid, a beautiful, rich Connecticut woman. On the night before her daughter's wedding, June Reid loses her daughter, her daughter's fiancé, her ex-husband, and her boyfriend in a tragic house fire. Grief-stricken, she drives across the country to Washington. Over the course of her journey, details slowly emerge about what caused the fire and its impact on the community.

Characters

* June Reid – bereaved mother, girlfriend and ex-wife * Luke Morey – June's boyfriend * Silas Riley – teenager employed by Luke * Cissy – The Moonstone's housekeeper * Lydia Morey née Hannafin – Luke's mother * Rebecca – co-owner of The Moonstone hotel, Kelly's girlfriend * Kelly – co-owner of The Moonstone hotel, Rebecca's girlfriend * Lolly Reid – June's daughter * Will Landis – Lolly's fiancé * Adam – June's ex-husband * Winton – lottery scammer * Edith – florist hired for Lolly and Will's wedding * Rick – son of the caterer hired for Lolly and Will's wedding * Dale Landis – Will's father * George – businessman, Luke's father * Rex – Lydia's ex-boyfriend * Ben – Cissy's deceased husband * Earl Morey – Lydia's ex-husband

Reception

''Did You Ever Have a Family'' received favourable reviews from, amongst others, ''

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'', the ''

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'', ''

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'' and ''

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''. In ''

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Kaui Hart Hemmings Kaui Hart Hemmings is an American writer. She is best known for her novel, ''The Descendants'' (2007), which was adapted into an award-winning film. Biography Kaui Hart Hemmings was born and raised in Hawaii. She attended Punahou School for ...

called the novel "masterly" and "thoughtful", noting that it is the characters' "complicated pasts... far more than the immediate concerns of the present or the obvious burdens of grief" and "connection — the way people and their lives fuse" that Clegg is interested in exploring. In the ''

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Suzi Feay Suzi is an English nickname for people with names such as Susan, Suzanne, Susanna or Susannah. Notable people with the name include: * Suzi Digby * Suzi Ferrer (1940–2006), US/Puerto Rican visual artist and feminist * Suzi Gardner * Suzi ...

noted that Clegg has "an eye for characters who cannot easily fit into the boxes that society has assigned" even if the main protagonist "June remains a puzzle, and hazily unconvincing". While praising Clegg for his ability to "not fall into the obvious trap of giving regular characters bigger vocabularies and more elaborate syntax than they would typically use", she also criticised his writing for being "generally plain and even unambitious", with the cast of characters' voices "not hugely differentiated".

Recognition

* 2015 - National Book Award, longlist * 2015 -

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

, longlist

References

{{reflist 2015 American novels 2015 debut novels Gallery Books books