Jonathan Franzen (2001)
The story of a dysfunctional family gathering for one final Christmas together is so genuinely conceived I felt as uncomfortable to be with these characters as they were with themselves. Enid and Alfred Lambert and their three grown children each bring a basement full of past grievances and hang-ups to the reunion. Franzen’s book weaves these five backstories together to create a page turner of a domestic drama with equal parts humor, empathy and fantastic writing. [***** out of 5]
2 Things @ Once 
I’ve have this book since it came out and I have yet to get past page 54. Based on your recommendation, I’ll give it another go.
Too weird. I too just referred to this book in my blog. LOL I haven’t even read the thing yet. It’s on my list though.