Dysfunctional Families

Dysfunctional...yeah, I know about that!

I haven't read any of the books that you listed, but you might want to check out Joe College by Tom Perrotta. It's about a Yale University student who goes back home to New Jersey to drive his father's lunch-catering truck. I thought it was somewhat humorous, contemporary (published in 2001, I think), and features at least a little "family dysfunction".

I also liked Perrotta's The Wishbones. It features some family themes but focuses on the relationships between members of The Wishbones, a rock band that performs at wedding receptions. They're all 30-something underachievers, and definitely dysfunctional.

I'm not familiar with any of those titles, but The Weird Sisters, by Eleanor Brown, is my favorite novel of that description. It's a belated coming-of-age tale about three sisters and their messed up lives. Subtitle - We love each other. We just don't like each other very much...

LJD said:

already read that one

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Aww, too bad. It was good, wasn't it?

There's also everything John Irving ever wrote, and there's this Nick Hornby book called A Long Way Down that I really enjoyed (though I usually can't stand Hornby). It's really a group of people that kind of became their own family, but fits of giggles, man.

I really enjoyed the small, dysfunctional family in Where Did You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.