(Fiction, Contemporary, Canadian)

From Amazon: “After a car crash leaves their friend Marcus dead and his wife Sarah in a coma, Ana and James are shocked to discover that they have become the legal guardians of a 2½-year-old, Finn”.

I don’t know why I found this book so forgettable.

Read this if: Since I can’t remember anything about it, I can’t really recommend who should read it. 3 stars ( )

I chose this book almost at random from the library shelves when I went to the library to collect another more carefully selected one. This turned out to be a rather good choice. A very good choice, actually. (I picked it off the shelf randomly, but I admit the "Longlisted for the Giller Prize" convinced me to take it home.) It's about a couple who are around half a generation behind me, and very much set in this century, so I could feel the relevance to me. That said, it's a story about a couple who are childless, and I'm definitely not in that situation. However it is fundamentally a story about people, their relationships, how they see themselves as people, and how the circumstances in which we find ourselves are very important in helping us to understand who we really are; with a focus on parenting. I guess the negative side is that it seems to be targeted at American yuppies (a group to which I never belonged) and it had a sort of slick feeling of being written by a newspaper 'culture columnist' (as Onstad is). ( )

What happens when the tidy, prosperous life of an urban couple is turned inside out by a tragedy with unexpected consequences? After a car crash leaves their friend Marcus dead and his wife Sarah in a coma, Ana and James are shocked to discover that they have become the legal guardians of a 2 year-old, Finn. Finn's crash-landing in their lives throws into high relief deeply rooted, and sometimes long-hidden, truths about themselves, both individually and as a couple. Summary BPL

The desire to be a parent or lack thereof can devastate a marriage. By definition desire cannot be reasoned away, nor can it be fully explained. A wife endures miscarriages, expensive IVF treatments and low grade inferiority to her naturally fecund friends. Enough is enough, she thinks. But the trajectory of her husband's path to fatherhood cannot be diverted. Despite the tragic circumstances, he is thrilled to assume legal guardianship of 2 year old Finn. His wife, a busy litigation lawyer, and sole supporter of the family since James lost his job (I think a lot of the plot turns on this point) valiantly tries to match his enthusiasm.

Ms Onstad easily pinpoints the stresses and tensions of a marriage's architecture; the push and pull of parenthood on the spousal relationship in relatively few pages. A deft portrait of a 21st century urban couple.

7.5 out of 10 Recommended to readers of Canadian and domestic fiction. ( )

Loved the tone and language of this book, as well as the characters. Ana and James, after many years of trying to conceive, find themselves as instant parents when their friends appoint them as guardians in their wills to their 2 year old son Finn. (The father has been killed and the mother is in a coma after a car accident.) Ana, a lawyer and James a recently fired TV documentary host react differently - with James taking on fatherhood with enthusiasm and Ana realizing that she probably is not suited to motherhood. Onstad lets these revelations unfold slowly and subtly and the emotional journey feels honest and authentic. ( )

Ana and James have been married for a number of years and trying to become parents for most of those years. The last pregnancy ended with a miscarriage. Just when it seemed they were becoming used to the idea of never becoming parents, their lives take a dramatic turn. They become foster-parents to the two-year-old child of their dear friends, Marcus and Sarah's son, Finn when a tragic accident results in the death of Marcus and nearly-fatal injuries to Sarah.

It appears that Ana had become not only at peace with the notion of never becoming a parent, but almost happy that she would never have to disrupt her life and career with motherhood. Ana isn't overly maternal but she does seem to border on being obsessive-compulsive about her habits and lifestyle. She appreciates having a home that isn't exactly child-friendly. She actually enjoys the regimentation of being a research lawyer. Now that she is faced with being a surrogate mother to a two-year-old, she isn't quite sure why she ever considered being a mother in the first place. Is it possible the maternal instinct will eventually kick in? Will she ever be completely comfortable around Finn?

While Ana is dealing with the inner turmoil of not being maternal, James is quite happy in his role as surrogate father to Finn. Unbeknownst to Ana, James has already established a relationship with Finn and often took him on outings to give his mother a much-needed break. Now that James is unemployed from his career in television, he is able to commit most of his time to Finn and seeing to his needs.

Everybody has Everything seems to be about just the opposite, not being able to have everything. In Ana's mind having everything seems to mean having a marriage, career and family. If she doesn't have all of these components in her life then she is somehow deficient in the eyes of society. She is very happy with her career and relatively satisfied with her marriage, but should she want more? James is dissatisfied with his lack of a career and is searching for something to redefine himself. His relationship with Ana isn't as strong as it once was and he also seems to be struggling for a balance there as much as with his career options. I found Everybody Has Everything to be a relatively quick read, but I couldn't really connect with the characters. It didn't make sense to me that if Ana wasn't really ready for motherhood, she'd spend so much time, money and effort on getting pregnant in the first place. James came across as mature in some instances and in others he reminded me more of an immature young man than someone approaching his early forties. He was a good father figure to Finn and seemed to relish the time spent with him. He was also a good friend to both Marcus and Sarah. I liked the premise of Everybody Has Everything, I just think it got a little lost along the way . . . or at least it seemed to for me. ( )