The Condition

By: Jennifer Haigh

Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck

Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

The Condition tells the story of the McKotches, a proper New England family that comes apart during one fateful summer. The year is 1976, and the family - Frank McKotch, an eminent scientist; his pedigreed wife, Paulette; and their three beautiful children - has embarked on its annual vacation at the Captain's House, the grand old family retreat on Cape Cod.

One day on the beach, Frank is struck by an image he cannot forget: his 13-year-old daughter, Gwen, strangely infantile in her child-sized bikini, standing a full head shorter than her younger cousin Charlotte. At that moment, he knows a truth that he can never again unknow: something is terribly wrong with his only daughter. The McKotch family will never be the same.

Twenty years after Gwen's diagnosis with Turner's syndrome, a genetic condition that has prevented her from maturing, trapping her forever in the body of a child, all five family members are still dealing with the fallout. Each believes himself crippled by some secret pathology; each feels responsible for the family's demise. Frank and Paulette are acrimoniously divorced. Billy, the eldest son, is dutiful but distant, a handsome Manhattan cardiologist with a life built on compromise. His brother, Scott, awakens from a pot-addled adolescence to a soul-killing job, a regrettable marriage, and a vinyl-sided tract house in the suburbs.

Gwen is silent and emotionally aloof, a bright, accomplished woman who spurns any interaction with those around her. She makes peace with the hermetic life she's constructed until, well into her 30s, she falls in love for the first time. And suddenly, once again, the family's world is tilted on its axis.

Compassionate yet unflinchingly honest, witty and almost painfully astute, The Condition explores the power of family mythologies - the self-delusions, denials, and inescapable truths that forever bind fathers and mothers and siblings.

©2008 Jennifer Haigh (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Filled with genuine insight and touching lyricism." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Not what I wanted and not what I expected

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

When I saw this book mentioned by another review, I thought I was choosing a book that was a heart felt story about a little girl with a desperate disease. What I got instead was a boring, slow moving episodic book about a man who is a sex fiend and his closed off ex wife's family. The character who plays the sick person is not developed well at all. I was so bored with this book that I couldn't listen to more than 2 hours of it.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The performance almost saved the book for me. However, even the pleasing voice of the narrator could not hold my attention.

One of the few books I didn't bother to finish

I found this to be very slow and uneventful. Could not empathize with any of the characters, or find myself interested in their lives at all. Not what I expected.

Huge disappointment!

I, too, chose this selection based on readers' reviews; I was very disappointed. I couldn't have cared less about these characters and found them completely two-dimensional. Any growth they experienced seemed arbitrary and contrived and I couldn't find any sympathy for any of their "conditions". The language was flat and uninteresting, and I'd be hard- pressed to chose another offering by this author.

A contrived story; not Haigh's best

An ok story - quite contrived. The description leads you to think it is about a medical condition suffered by one of the female characters, which is actually only one segment of the story. Ends up each character suffers from some sort of "condition" whether it be medical, pyschological or societal. While listening, I just kept thinking how contrived it felt; forced. Listen to Haigh's Mrs. Kimble instead.

Hard to fathom the many good reviews

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. I only listened for two hours before giving up.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jennifer Haigh again?

Not especially.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

No problem with the narration.

Was The Condition worth the listening time?

No. Characters are one-dimensional, and hard to believe in a story that cried out for depth.

not so good

This was a depressing book. The characters were not well developed. Several times I almost quit listening.

Mildly Enjoyable, somewhat cheesy novel

Any additional comments?

Regular novels aren’t my usual thing but this one caught my eye because the daughter in this book turns out to have Turner Syndrome. Like some other readers, I kind of wished for the girl and her Turners Syndrome to play a more dominant role in the book. It really was no more about her than it was about either of her brothers and I’d say her mom and dad were even more central to the plot. Her one brother was a very typical book character. He’s successful and perfect seeming but has a big secret from his family. That is a fancy way of saying he’s gay. I have no objection to gay characters but I didn’t really need to go through his whole life and his issues about coming out. That has just been done so many times.
The other brother was I guess a tad more interesting. He is a big time loser. The point of the book though I guess is that while it may sound like it is about Gwen’s condition of Turners it is really more about the human condition. Blech – yes I really did say that. Whether that condition is Gwen’s Turners, Billy’s repressed homosexuality, Scotty’s undiagnosed ADHD and subsequent failures in life, the mom’s numerous complex psychological issues, or the dad’s, everybody has issues. And everybody deals with their issues in ways that so frustrate the reader. Also I think some people would criticize the book for bizarre plot twists – and we certainly have them here.
Not a great book but somehow I kind of enjoyed it anyway.

I finished it but.....

I believe I chose this book from one of Audible's "best" lists, which I feel are fairly worthwhile for me. But in this case this book didn't measure up--at least for me. I thought the plot was pretty contrived and nothing more than a soap opera. It's not that these people or plot weren't believable, but I didn't really care to get to know them or their issues. I finished, but was glad to go on to my next listen.

The Condition

Long and seem to go no where.

Do Not waste your credit!

What would have made The Condition better?

The only thing that could have made this book any better would have been A PLOT! Imagine that. The book it titled The Condition, but the there is maybe 15 minutes spent on the girl who actually has the Condition. The rest is depressing background information on all of the characters.

Any additional comments?

I kept waiting for the point of the story to come out. I finally just tossed it. What a waste!