When a stroke fells radical New York lawyer Joel Litvinoff, a secret is revealed that forces Audrey, his wife, to reexamine everything she believed about their forty-year marriage. In the meantime Joel’s children are struggling with their own dilemmas and doubts. Disillusioned revolutionary Rosa has been drawn into the world of Orthodox Judaism. Karla, a devoted—and married—social worker hoping to adopt a child, is falling in love with the owner of a newspaper stand. Lenny, the ne’er-do-well, faces yet another relapse into heroin addiction. In the course of battling their own demons—and one another—the Litvinoffs must reexamine long-held articles of faith and decide what—if anything—they still believe in.My Thoughts:
Well, where do I start????? This is my first attempt at reading Heller and overall I liked her way with words. The bigger question is did I like this book? I'll start off by saying that Audrey is not a character that I enjoyed one bit. In fact, I wanted to slap her more than once and maybe even throttle her a few times to top it off! I detested the way that she parented. In my humble opinion she was a rotten mother. All of her children are adults but emotionally......still children. Anything that they wanted to do she bashed them for it. Except for the drug-addicted son, who she treated like was her own personal pet. The Socialist slant of this story just wasn't for me. I'm not a Socialist, nor do I believe in any of their principles or ways of thinking. I frankly thought Joel and Audrey were hypocrites and insensitive to others. On the bright side (yes, there is a bright side!) I did like Karla and Rosa. These two characters were the reason why I continued to read this book. I was involved with them and wanted to know if they decided to live for themselves and to ignore their mother's brutal words. So overall, I wouldn't run out and tell all my friends that they had to read this book, but I'm not sorry that I read it.
Thanks again to TLC for asking me to be a part of this wonderful book tour .
Check out other tour stops here.
Yeah Audrey made me so mad, I couldn't finish the book. One of my few DNFs last year.
ReplyDeleteI got Heller's Notes on a Scandal for Christmas and will read it soon, but am not sure if this one appeals to me.
ReplyDeleteI loved Notes on A Scandal but so far I haven't been able to finish this one. I just disliked everyone intensely, which usually doesn't bother me so much, but did here. I still want to try to finish at some point.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, well put. I couldn't stand Audrey either. When you're through slapping her, I'm next in line. Yes, Karla and Rose were the redeeming characters in the novel. Actually I thought the ending was wrapped up way too neatly for people with those kind of issues. Not believable to me at all.
ReplyDeleteStaci, this was a great honest review! I like reviews that tells you what you liked and didn't like about a book.
ReplyDeleteYour review is really nice compared to some I've read of this book. I think I'll skip it. Thanks for your review.
ReplyDeleteI tried to read thsi book once, I may have failed at page 2 *blush*
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this one, as well as Notes on a Scandal...you present good points in your review.
ReplyDeleteWhat a dysfunctional family this one is!
It's good to sit on the sidelines and read about it all...and hope that the characters work it all out.
Thanks for an honest review. I'll keep this off my tbr list for now.
ReplyDeletei never mind reading a less than positive review of a book as long as the reviewer supports his or her opinion. your review is honest and you clearly explain the flaws you found with the book.
ReplyDeleteas for characters you want to slap, i've read more than my fair share! :)
Thanks for your honest review Staci. It's hard to get beyond unlikeable characters and these sound like very strongly unlikeable characters if you wanted to slap them,lol! I've not read Heller's work but loved the movie based on her book Notes on a scandal.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the reviews for this book, because this is a really polarizing book. You either love it or hate it! Thanks for being on the tour! :)
ReplyDeleteOn another note, is that your papillon in the header??
I've never heard of this one before but it really doesn't seem like one I'd enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI just got done reading a book where I wanted to smack the main character. Those kind of feelings can make it hard to get through a book!
ReplyDeleteThe bright side of being so far behind on my blog reading: I have lots of wonderful Staci posts to read! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking this book probably wouldn't be my cup of tea either. I'm glad there was at least a bright side though. ;)
Staci, I have been indecisive as to which Zoe Heller's book I am going to read first. Notes on a Scandal sounds better than this one, although I'll still keep my eye on this one.
ReplyDeleteHm, based on your review, I'm thinking this is not the book for me.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know that I wasn't alone in my feelings for the book. It was well-written but I really only cared about Karla. I didn't even care about Rosa, I'm sorry to say.
ReplyDeleteNow this is an honest review. Thanks. I think I'll pass.
ReplyDeleteI think I've told you before that I loved your blog...But I think I'll tell you again! I Loooove your blog!!! Thanks for everything! I hope to see you at the Salvation Army!
ReplyDeleteP.S. We need to do another review together....get the word out about my blog...lol
I always like your open and honest thoughts about a book. I find I trust your recomendations.
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