Annotation
"After almost fifty years as a wife and mother, Enid Lambert is ready to have some fun. Unfortunately, her husband, Alfred, is losing his sanity to Parkinson's disease, and their children have long since flown the family nest to the catastrophes of their own lives. The oldest, Gary, a once-stable portfolio manager and family man, is trying to convince his wife and himself, despite clear signs to the contrary, that he is not clinically depressed. The middle child, Chip, has lost his seemingly secure academic job and is failing spectacularly at his new line of work. And Denise, the youngest, has escaped a disastrous marriage only to pour her youth and heart down the drain of an affair with a married man - or so her mother fears. Desperate for some pleasure to look forward to, Enid has set her heart on an elusive goal: bringing her family together for one last Christmas at home."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Awards
2001 National Book Awards
2001 New York Times Editors' Choice
2001 Library Journal Best Books of the Year
2002 American Library Association Notable Books
Characters
| Name | Lambert, Alfred |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Railroad engineer |
| Traits | Married |
| Father | |
| Retired | |
| Name | Lambert, Enid |
| Gender | Female |
| Traits | Married |
| Mother | |
| Name | Lambert, Gary |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Trait | Married |
| Name | Lambert, Denise |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Chef |
| Traits | Divorced |
| Bisexual | |
| Name | Lambert, Chip |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Website designer |
| Trait | Ex-teacher |
| Genre | Domestic Sociological Tragi-comedy Fiction |
| Topics | Family relationships Selfishness Marriage Parkinson's disease Parent and child American culture Contemporary life |
| Setting | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |