Genre City Review: The Fine Art of Insincerity
Title: The Fine Art of Insincerity
Author: Angela Hunt
Publisher: Howard Books
Genre: Women’s Contemporary Fiction
Release date: May 2011
ISBN: 978-1439182031
Reviewed by: Darlo Gemeinhardt
Hunt creates a haunting story of family relationships with flawed characters.
Angela Hunt creates characters who, though ordinary women living ordinary lives, are so compelling the reader can’t wait to turn the page to see what happens next. In The Fine Art of Insincerity, three sisters come together for a weekend to clear out their deceased grandmother’s beach house so the new owner can take possession.
As emotions and memories surge, each sister must come to terms with her problems. One faces her husband’s infidelity, one contemplates suicide, and one plays with the idea of leaving her husband. The story flows seamlessly as Hunt alternates chapters with a different sister’s point of view. Chapter headings indicate which sister is speaking, but Hunt develops each personality so well, you could read the chapter without the heading and still know which POV you are reading.
Tensions mount as the sisters search through a lifetime of stuff linked to memories of their grandmother and her beach house. As they pack away her things, they must unpack baggage of their own.
Hunt creates a haunting story of family relationships with flawed characters finding a legacy far greater than they expect. This is one of those books you can’t stop thinking about long after you’ve turned the last page. Take a weekend and read The Fine Art of Insincerity. You may laugh a little, cry a little, and smile a lot as you learn what family is all about.