The Sons & Daughters of Ease & Plenty by Ramona Ausubel

[hubblegal]

In 1976, Fern and Edgar were a well-to-do couple with three children. They are enjoying their summer at their beach house in New England as usual when they learn that all of their money is gone. The shock of this news sends Fern and Edgar off on their own fantasy adventures. Edgar takes off with an uninhibited younger woman and Fern takes off with Mac, a giant (just a very large man). Each thinks the other parent is at home with the children but the children are left alone. Cricket, only 9 years old, is left in charge of her younger brothers.

I unfortunately didn’t read the blurb about this book carefully enough and thought it was a serious look about money and class. That is not the case at all and apparently isn’t meant to be. Even though I had misunderstood what the book was like, I should have been able to get into the spirit of the book once I saw where it was heading. But I just couldn’t stand reading about these parents and their selfish, childish response to facing a future of actually having to earn a salary. Their children were much more mature than they were. Maybe I just didn’t understand the humor but I didn’t find anything about this book humorous or filled with wisdom or brimming with humanity as advertised.

The only parts of the book that I liked at all were the parts of their family life before losing their money and Mac the giant’s story. But it wasn’t enough to save the book for me.

This book was given to me by the publisher through First to Read in return for an honest review.