Most people do not live their lives according to their own values. They say they do, they say they support certain things or care about them, but they never actually adjust their behavior. It's not easy to retain your convictions. To honor your beliefs. It takes courage, and sometimes radical and uncomfortable change. For Arthur Candlewick, it took a traumatic brain injury. A hard reset. And it changed everything.

This novel is an interesting study of relationships, moral philosophy, materialism vs. charity, familial responsibility, and this crazy thing we call life in general.

Each of the characters is complex and in some ways, contradictory, even to themselves. In other ways, they were steady and immovable, usually to their own detriment.

Arthur's change in personality after his accident broke their family apart. His wife Yara could not reconcile his new self with the man she married and for their two children, teenagers at the time, the fracture was a formative experience.

What is there to say about a novel like this one, except to read it for yourself? It isn't necessarily an easy read, though it's not heavy or difficult quite either. The thing it will demand of you is your full attention. It will make you think, and to face your own thinking. Emil (the son) is one of the most thoughtful and considered characters I may have ever read. Sometimes things are black and white, but both the black and the white have larger implications, and it is always useful to explore them.

You will take out of this book what you put into it, and I absolutely love that.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This satirical story follows the Candlewick family whose lives are turned upside down when the father, Arthur, goes missing and falls into an abandoned mineshaft. This incident alters his personality and spurs him to donate their entire wealth to charities - creating chaos and dysfunction within the family.

The satire was fun, but this book wasn’t for me and was a bit too slow for my liking.

Many sources describe this as funny, but I confess I missed the humor in this novel. Yes, there was an occasional subtle wit woven into the prose, but for the most part this story describes an incredibly dysfunctional collection of characters who are plodding through life.

The Candlewicks appear successful by conventional standards – a nuclear family of four, a beautiful home, two successful careers, significant wealth, and two teenagers in prestigious schools. When Arthur, the father, wanders off one night and falls into an abandoned mine shaft he experiences an epiphany with the help of his daughter’s book on social responsibility, his son’s drugs, and the absence of food a water for three days. Upon his rescue, he is determined to share his resources by giving away most of his money to charitable organizations that demonstrate efficacy in their efforts to serve the greater good. The only problem? Arthur undertakes all this unilaterally – to the dismay and outrage of his wife who is now responsible for the welfare of the family. The storyline then follows the decline of the family in a somber and sorrowful manner with little redemption in the end.

The novel raises some interesting questions about the inequality of wealth distribution and its impact on the well-being of the poorest populations throughout the globe. I cannot say I enjoyed this book, but it was thought-provoking on multiple levels. I certainly did not find it hilarious as advertised. At best this novel is a satirical assessment of two extremes – accumulation of wealth for security and comfort contrasted with divestment of wealth to the point of poverty in the name of good.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

For fans of Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting and Jenny Jackson’s Pineapple Street, this dazzling, darkly comic family saga explores wealth, morality, and what happens when a family built on fortune suddenly finds itself without one.

The Candlewicks have it all—old money, prestige, and a lifestyle most can only dream of. Until the unthinkable happens.

Arthur Candlewick, the family patriarch, makes a stunning announcement: he’s giving away the entire family fortune to charity. Overnight, the carefully constructed world of privilege crumbles, leaving his family grasping for stability in a life they were never prepared for.

His daughter Evangeline, the scrappy idealist who once railed against capitalism, watches in shock as the reality of her wishes unfolds in ways she never expected. What does it mean to live by your principles when the safety net is gone?

His son Emil, a brilliant but reclusive math prodigy, pulls further and further from the family, seeking solace—and maybe danger—in the company of less-than-reputable figures.

And Yara, Arthur’s wife, struggles to maintain dignity and grace as their social standing collapses, forcing her to question whether nobility exists without wealth and whether she truly had love with her husband.

As the Candlewicks scramble to redefine themselves without money, the novel asks piercing questions: What does it mean to be good? How do you exist within capitalism without letting it define you? And when everything you know disappears, what’s left?

Rollicking, razor-sharp, and wildly entertaining, The Candlewick Collapse is a novel about privilege, reinvention, and the absurdity of trying to live ethically in a system designed for anything but.

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