The Burning Side is a compelling, heartfelt, and complicated family drama about marriage and a house fire.

The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff

Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Fiction, Complicated Family Drama, Marriage, Multi-generational, Alzheimer’s, Texas

***This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links

My Summary:

The Burning Side is the story of marriage and family. The story opens with Leo, April, and their two young children escaping a house fire in the middle of the night. They move in with April’s parents. On the night of the fire, Leo tells April he wants a divorce. The House is not the only thing burning to the ground. Can Leo and April save their marriage? Can the house be rebuilt?

My Thoughts:

First Line:
“The night their house goes up in flames, April stumbles out the front door with her baby in one arm and a book in the other.

Why do I love a complicated family drama?

A complicated family drama is one of my favorite subgenres of fiction. Not dysfunctional family drama, just the ordinary kind of complicated drama that most of us face at some point. The Burning Side checks all my boxes for a five-star read: well-written family drama, likeable people, family love and loyalty, multiple points of view, thoughtful themes, and realistic problems.

“Marriage is a carousel for those who can stomach the cycles of it, orbiting an axis of children and money, of fear and brute determination. And–in some cases–love. It’s for those who can survive coming back to the starting place to discover that it has been subtly but irrevocably changed. We are right where we started, but we are not as we were.”

Who tells the story?

The Burning Side is told from multiple points of view, mainly April, Leo, and April’s mom. I love a multiple-perspective and multi-generational story. We all have back stories that explain our current behaviors and choices. Assigning blame is complicated. All the characters are likable and relatable.

Is this a story of a house fire or a marriage?

The house and the marriage are both on fire and burning to the ground, and the house is a compelling metaphor for everything that is happening in the marriage. Can they rebuild? Do they demolish it and mourn the loss? Among the ashes and destruction, is there anything to salvage? Is there hope of forgiveness and reconciliation?

From Leo’s and April’s perspectives, the author brilliantly portrays the complexities of this marriage. April might be experiencing a bit of postpartum depression; she is overwhelmed and needs a break (or at least more support); Leo has been disappointing her. From Leo’s perspective, he doesn’t quite know what to do, even though he loves April and her family; he feels somewhat unneeded, as he has unresolved feelings of abandonment from his childhood; he throws himself into his work. We can understand both Leo’s and April’s feelings and their resulting behaviors. It’s difficult to assign blame.

In addition to April’s marriage, we gain glimpses into her parents’ marriage now that they are all living under one roof. The perfect marriage (from the children’s pov) wasn’t always perfect, and the parents had obstacles to overcome. Now, April’s dad has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, and we understand this difficulty from her mother’s pov.

Many flashbacks fill us in on the history of April and Leo’s marriage and on the history of her parents’ marriage.

Meanwhile, April’s siblings (brother and sister) add their own drama, and then there is the house dilemma (rebuild? tear it all down?). Oh yes, April has also been served with divorce papers, and Leo has moved out of her parents’ house. It all looks rather dire. Will they lose the house and the marriage?

What makes this Literary Fiction?

Literary Fiction is difficult to describe. Usually, it’s character-driven fiction, well-written, and deals with thought-provoking themes. While there is sufficient action to drive the plot forward, there is also substantial character development as the author provides background to help us understand April’s and Leo’s behavior choices and motivations. Leo and April are facing a decision that will affect both of them and their children. Important questions are considered: Can I be a good parent and be divorced from the father or mother of my children? How will I support myself and establish a new home? Perhaps I can forgive my partner and rebuild. Is reconciliation a possibility? For Leo, April’s family is the only one he’s ever known, a double loss for Leo. How committed am I to the idea of family, and what would I be willing to do to preserve it? Then, the parents are a consideration. How much support will they need. How will the extended family suffer if we burn down the marriage? Is there an alternative to burning it down? What would it take to bring about healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation?

Content Consideration: house fire, infidelity, abandonment, Alzheimer’s

Recommending The Burning Side:

The Burning Side is already on my best-of-year list, and it may be #1! I highly recommend this well-written and poignant story for fans of compelling literary fiction and complicated family drama. With its memorable characters and thoughtful and relevant themes, it’s a heartfelt story that will be remembered for years.

Related: Another complicated family drama that starts with a house fire is Little Fires Everywhere.

My Rating: 5+ Stars

More Information Here

Meet the Author of The Burning Side, Sarah Damoff

Sarah Damoff is the author of the debut novel, THE BRIGHT YEARS, published by Simon & Schuster on April 22, 2025. It was a national bestseller; a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist; Southern Literary Review Book of the Year; and it is being translated into fourteen languages. Her writing has appeared in Oprah Daily, Porter House Review, Ruminate Magazine, and Open Global Rights, among other publications. A Texas native, Sarah lives with her husband and children in Dallas, where she has worked in child welfare. Her second novel, THE BURNING SIDE, is out now.

---

---

QOTD:

Do you love complicated family drama?

---

---

Let’s Get Social!

Find me at:
Twitter/X
Blue Sky
Instagram (Threads link in bio)
Goodreads and StoryGraph
Pinterest
SubStack: @carolreadingladies
Reading Ladies Book Club on Facebook

---

---

Happy Reading Book Buddies!

“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for reading bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, teaching, and connection. Books take us to places we’ve never been, teach us about our world, and help us understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley

---

---

***Blog posts may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I can earn a small percentage of your purchase price.

All books I review are purchased or borrowed from the library unless explicitly stated that the book is free (arc).

Amazon or an author’s (or publisher’s) website receives all credit for book covers and author photos.

© ReadingLadies.com