The Family Fang: A Novel Kindle Edition

What parent hasn't gazed upon their progeny in a moment of good behavior, creativity, or beautiful slumber and thought, here is my `self' extended, my greatest creation, my art? Any such parental illusions of grandeur generally subside as the child's individuality emerges and almost certainly prior to adolescence as offspring develop a disdain for all things parental. Then again, perhaps not always? Maybe sometimes the parental fixation takes firm root and grows into a family tree ripe with pathological fruit. That is the premise author Kevin Wilson, who teaches fiction at the University of the South in Tennessee, presents in his wonderfully quirky and readable novel, The Family Fang (HarperCollins). And indeed, it is easy to suspend any disbelief given how convincingly Wilson anchors his case study in characters whose unbelievable-ness is rendered completely believable.Camille and Caleb Fang, the husband and wife team at the center of Wilson's novel, are presented as performance artists so outré as almost to inhabit an alternate universe (as it happens, Hazzard County, Tennessee). Perfectly matched in the belief that all conventional art is dead, the Fangs dedicate themselves to the premise that art must move, must unfold in ways unknown and unexpected. In short, their performance pieces ambush the spectator to create chaos. That these pieces are frequently dangerous--staged shootings, near self-immolations, motorcycle stunts, fake robberies--is a risk Caleb and Camille accept as necessary to lives dedicated to creating art. The unexpected arrival of children, however--first daughter Annie and then son Buster--puts a crimp in the Fang master plan. That is, until the new parents discover that it is possible to intertwine family and art so tightly that they cannot be untangled.This premise takes root in an early scene when Annie, still a babe in arms, is so frightened by a department store Santa that she inspires a shopping mall-wide pandemonium. Camille, new to motherhood and confused in the face of her child's distress, remarks, "She's a baby, Caleb," to which Caleb replies, "She's a Fang. That supersedes everything else."It is a seminal moment. Rather than parental concern, the new parents experience awe: Annie can make things move. Children, it seems, can be made into art.Soon the family foursome is trolling shopping malls, restaurants, and other venues throughout the Southeast in pursuit of the artistic moment. Indeed, Annie and Buster, now referred to by their parents (not always affectionately) as child "A" and child "B," play important (sometimes well rehearsed, sometimes impromptu) roles in these family set pieces--performances that Wilson presents as vignettes interspersed throughout his novel. A brief sampling:· "Crime and Punishment, 1985" (candy store theft exposed);· "The Last supper, 1985" (French restaurant encounters of the emetic kind);· "The Portrait of a Lady, 1988" (Fang progeny hijacks beauty pageant; but which child is it--A or B?)But even the best-matched artistic troupes can fall apart when one or more cast members feels excluded from the creative process. For the family Fang, that moment arrives via Shakespeare and a high school production ("More Woe, 1995") that features the Fang siblings in starring roles (to say any more would be to spoil the fun).Soon A and B go on to separate careers--Annie, not surprisingly, to semi-success as a Hollywood movie actress, Buster to a lack-luster career as a freelance journalist and experimental novelist. Yet neither can escape the Fang legacy, an inheritance that seems to drive them in to acting on their worst instincts.Years later, after separate but equally spectacular career blunders, the siblings are brought together again under their parents' roof and soon find themselves unwitting participants in what looks to be another Fang piece--perhaps their parents greatest yet--that may or may not have been planned. Angry at what might be another artistic shut out, fearful that their parents may actually have abandoned them physically as well as emotionally this time, A & B undertake detective work aimed at thwarting what they hope is supposed to be their parents artistic masterpiece (much of what follows in this section of the novel falls into red herring territory but is nonetheless entertaining).Without giving away too much about the novel's conclusion, Wilson provides some evidence that Annie and Buster have begun to emerge from their abnormally prolonged adolescences. As is often the case when children negotiate the transition to adulthood, the Fang siblings are increasingly shaped by their meaningful peer relationships. Apparently there are ways and means (like maybe falling in love?) of giving way to one's worst instincts--instincts that run deep in the Fang gene pool--and still surviving.Perhaps it is a musical ditty sung by A & B in one of the family's earliest performance pieces, and which shows up for a return engagement at novel's end, that best captures Annie's and Buster's maturation process--albeit in language that only a Fang would likely appreciate:"It's a sad world. It's unforgiving," the lyrics proclaim. "Kill all parents, so you can keep living," its sometimes metaphoric, and sometimes not, admonition.Jack Andrew Urquhart is the author of several works of fiction, including So They Say Collected Stories.

I devoured "The Family Fang" in two days, after letting it sit on my bookshelf for months. I had read an overwhelming number of amazing reviews of the book prior to it's release in August 2011, and although I pre-ordered the title, it took me quite a while to get around to reading it. Why the delay? While the premise sounded interesting, it didn't grab me enough to bump it up to the front of the queue. Once I picked it up, however, I found it almost impossible to put down. I began it on Sunday evening and raced home from work on Monday to finish it.The plot focuses on Caleb and Camille Fang, performance artists for whom art is their entire life, and whose work revolves around creating abnormal situations in public places and filming the reactions of oblivious observers. Once their children, Annie and Buster (or "Child A" and "Child B," as they are known in the art world) are born, Caleb and Camille immediately begin to integrate their children into their "art," with and without their knowledge. In one such example, Annie and Buster perform original songs on stage in front of an audience. Neither knows how to play an instrument or sing, but the children eagerly perform a series of terrible songs in an attempt to earn money to pay for an operation for their (nonexistent) dog. While a crowd gathers and onlookers encourage the children, Cecilia and Caleb lurk in the audience, heckling the children with jeers including, "You're terrible!" and "I hope your dog dies!" The aftermath, as predicted by the Fangs, involves half of the crowd jumping to the defense of the children, while the other half joins in the angry protest, even as the children begin to cry.The story alternates between stories of such family adventures and the lives of Annie and Buster in present day, both of whom are struggling to establish an identity separate from "The Family Fang" and to overcome the abnormality of their childhood. Normally I find this technique to be confusing and distracting, but in this case, I truly enjoyed it. Wilson provides just enough information that you understand what's happening and why, but you don't get bogged down in background information or over-explanation. By immediately revealing information including the fact that Annie is now an Oscar-nominated actress and drawing you into Buster's adventures while in Nebraska on a freelance writing assignment, the reader becomes instantly invested in their individual journeys, as well as their family's history. This device also serves to establish the distinctive voice of each family member, with the family dynamic itself almost becoming it's own unique character.I truly found the book to be unique, observant, funny, bizarre, and insightful, and I was impressed by the thought, creativity, and imagination put into developing the ideas for the various "performances." I struggled a bit with the second half of the book, in which an element of mystery is introduced (in my notes, I simple wrote, "it gets weird..."), but I'd still happily recommend this book. While some "literary fiction" can read as beautiful, yet dull, The Family Fang is a very well-written AND highly entertaining novel.

Having just read The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose who uses the real life performance artist Marina Abramovic as a character, it was interesting to come across performance artists Camille and Caleb Fang in this novel. Camille and Caleb have two children, Annie and Buster (Child A and Child B), who’ve been involved with their parents’ mall disruptions all their lives. Cut to the present when Annie is making a name for herself as a film actor and Buster is working on a third novel. Due to some unfortunate vicissitudes in their lives they find themselves back home with their parents, who promptly disappear, leaving their van and some blood at a rest stop. The police are convinced this is another abduction and possible homicide. Annie and Buster are convinced it’s another “piece”. They engage in various tactics to smoke their parents out. The truth, when it emerges, involves some pretty big questions about what it’s acceptable to do to other people in the name of art. Kevin Wilson clearly has a fascination with people who catch on fire. Nothing to See Here is about twins who combust with no harm to themselves and in this novel Annie plays the part of a woman hired to take care of four children who also burst into flame and whose unfeeling parents are willing to sacrifice them to a facility in Alaska. A parallel, of course. It’s an interesting novel and an engaging read.

What a well written and entertaining piece of literature. The Family Fang is as eccentric and annoying as you can get, but the writer made me come to love them. This book is well worth the read!

Oui, étrangement, ce livre parlera beaucoup aux amateurs d'art moderne, aux gens qui aiment être surpris par une production insolite. ici, les enfant Fang essaient de se reconstruire après une enfance passée auprès de leurs parents, "artistes de rue" qui créent des situations insolites et inattendues pour en en faire des tableaux vivants d'art moderne. Surprise garantie, ironie douce sur l'égocentrisme des artistes, humour et nostalgie sur une enfance au service de l'art. Un moment inattendu de lecture, j'ai vraiment aimé ce livre, car il sort tout simplement de l'ordinaire.

A book about a family, unlike any other I've read before. The Fangs are artists who use their children as pawns in their performances. Now those children (Child A and B) are grown up, and quite unsurprisingly, a little messed up as a result.This story is about how they struggle to cope with being adults and deal with the way their obscure upbringing makes them feel about their parents.There were bits of this book that made me gasp with shock, particularly some of the performance pieces, and I sat in a pub telling my husband and his friend about it, and both of them laughed at some of the stories I was able to tell.I loved it - very funny, very different.

Skurile Geschichte, irgendwie...abefahren. Ich habe zwischendurch immer gedacht, bei diesen Eltern ist es ein Wunder, dass die Kinder nicht schon lange drogenabhängig in der Gosse liegen. Eigentlich denkt man zwischendurch immer, was denken die sich als nächstes aus. Manchmal frage ich mich auch, ob es wirklich solche Künstler gibt, die solche Dinge tun, aber fürchte, irgendwo auf dieser Welt, gibt es sie wirklich und da ich, ich gebe es offen zu, leider für diese Art von Kunst kein Verständnis aufbringen kann, war diese Geschichte Wasser auf meine Mühlen. Ist nett zu lesen und der Autor überrascht einen immer wieder mit seinen Einfällen.Ach ja, Buch wurde auf englisch gelesen. Ist zu schaffen mit ein bisschen Englischkentnissen, nicht allzu schwer. Vieles ergibt sich ganz einfach aus dem Zusammenhang.