The Man Who Loved Children

A strange little book. I'd never heard of it before Ella recommended it to me.

None of the characters are sympathetic, Sam Pollitt in particular is insufferable. His dialect talk to the kids starts as offputting, evolves to annoying, and ends up being frustrating.

There is a strange satisfaction to it, even though the ending of the book was so strange. Louie's actions towards Henny are right out of left field. Henny herself is the closest thing I get to sympathy, but she manages to remain difficult throughout.

Overall, it seems like an overlooked little gem of modernist literature.

I'll start by saying that I understand why many contemporary novelists are fans of this novel. The family dynamics in this novel are so life-like, I felt like a fly on the wall who is observing a real dysfunctional family. That being said, the novel suffers from a lack of critical editing. It could easily have been cut to half the length without any loss of resonance or truth. Still, I recommend it to anyone that writes about family dynamics and any fan of novels centering around those dynamics. Just be prepared to work hard to make it through the overly drawn out center of the novel.