This was really reminiscent of A Spool of Blue Thread, less far reaching but still looking at the lives of a family and how they individually relate to one another and the world. The Middlesteins concentrates on a family of four, mum, dad and two grown-up kids. The mother is fat and is having serious health complications. The rest of the family, including the son's wife, try to help an unwilling Edie to change her lifestyle. We see into the relationships of the daughter, son and son's family too and the ways they cope, or don't, with the lives they have.
The Middlesteins takes a fairly dim view of relationships, both romantic and familial. It makes you not want to get married or start a family. Everyone seems trapped in a life they no longer want, or never did. There is very little everyday joy and no contentment. It's a good novel, but I don't know if it's perpetuating a trope rather than adding nuance.
