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The Tin Horse
For fans of the beloved classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a sweeping, multi-generational story about twin sisters, one of whom disappears without a trace in 1939, set in the historically Jewish neighborhood of Boyle Heights, California, and modern-day Los Angeles.
After years of resistance to the idea, feisty octogenarian Elaine Greenstein finally decides to move from the home in which she raised her family to a retirement community. While she's packing her possessions, she finds a clue to the whereabouts of her twin sister, who disappeared from the little-known Jewish mecca of Boyle Heights on the eve of WWII when the girls were eighteen. Plunging back into memories of her childhood and the momentous historical facts that impacted her family, Elaine recalls her family's stories-those from the Old Country, and tales of immigration travails, and the heartache of being the "smart" one of the twins instead of the "popular" one.
In an utterly unforgettable, salty voice, Elaine revives the memories of growing up with her twin sister Barbara, her parents, her Zayde, her aunts and her younger sisters as the Greensteins bear the disappointments, heartbreaks, and fallout from the immigrant baggage that they have been unable to shed despite settling in southern California-the land of sunshine and opportunity, fig trees and equality.
Janice Steinberg's novel is not only about the stories that make up our family histories, but also about those we tell ourselves in order to believe in who we've made ourselves out to be.
After years of resistance to the idea, feisty octogenarian Elaine Greenstein finally decides to move from the home in which she raised her family to a retirement community. While she's packing her possessions, she finds a clue to the whereabouts of her twin sister, who disappeared from the little-known Jewish mecca of Boyle Heights on the eve of WWII when the girls were eighteen. Plunging back into memories of her childhood and the momentous historical facts that impacted her family, Elaine recalls her family's stories-those from the Old Country, and tales of immigration travails, and the heartache of being the "smart" one of the twins instead of the "popular" one.
In an utterly unforgettable, salty voice, Elaine revives the memories of growing up with her twin sister Barbara, her parents, her Zayde, her aunts and her younger sisters as the Greensteins bear the disappointments, heartbreaks, and fallout from the immigrant baggage that they have been unable to shed despite settling in southern California-the land of sunshine and opportunity, fig trees and equality.
Janice Steinberg's novel is not only about the stories that make up our family histories, but also about those we tell ourselves in order to believe in who we've made ourselves out to be.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
190 people are currently reading
3844 people want to read
About the author
Janice Steinberg
12 books34 followersI grew up in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, which is less bucolic than it sounds; it’s a suburb of Milwaukee. Whitefish Bay is nonetheless charming. It’s right on Lake Michigan. Quiet streets, glorious autumns. One of my earliest memories is of standing with my mother in a cozy brick building that was at one time the public library. I think the cozy building later became the police department, which does give Whitefish Bay a sort of Mayberry vibe.
During college, I became a Californian. I got a B.A. and M.A. at the University of California-Irvine, and that’s where met my husband, Jack Cassidy. We spent a couple of years in Los Angeles and now live in San Diego. There was also a brief detour to Colorado, but we missed California so much that we took to watching “Starsky and Hutch” reruns for glimpses of L.A. “Look, there’s Lincoln Boulevard!” If you know Lincoln Boulevard in Venice, you know it is not renowned for its beauty. We were really homesick.
Like many people who are compelled to write, I’ve had a pastiche of jobs: urban planning, public relations, grant writing, journalism, editing, and teaching. For several years, I freelanced for Advertising Age, where I was known as Queen of the Sidebar. After paying lots of dues, I was able to focus on the work that I love: fiction writing and arts journalism. I’ve had five mystery novels published, and I cover dance (and sometimes theater) for the San Diego newspaper, the UT. Having my first character-driven novel, The Tin Horse, published by Random House, I feel like I’ve caught the brass ring.
My passions, besides writing and reading, are dance and Judaism.
During college, I became a Californian. I got a B.A. and M.A. at the University of California-Irvine, and that’s where met my husband, Jack Cassidy. We spent a couple of years in Los Angeles and now live in San Diego. There was also a brief detour to Colorado, but we missed California so much that we took to watching “Starsky and Hutch” reruns for glimpses of L.A. “Look, there’s Lincoln Boulevard!” If you know Lincoln Boulevard in Venice, you know it is not renowned for its beauty. We were really homesick.
Like many people who are compelled to write, I’ve had a pastiche of jobs: urban planning, public relations, grant writing, journalism, editing, and teaching. For several years, I freelanced for Advertising Age, where I was known as Queen of the Sidebar. After paying lots of dues, I was able to focus on the work that I love: fiction writing and arts journalism. I’ve had five mystery novels published, and I cover dance (and sometimes theater) for the San Diego newspaper, the UT. Having my first character-driven novel, The Tin Horse, published by Random House, I feel like I’ve caught the brass ring.
My passions, besides writing and reading, are dance and Judaism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 399 reviews
May 7, 2017
This book was a flop for me. I would've given it one star but I did enjoy learning about the real-life Jewish community Boyle Heights in California in the 1930's. There are so many unlikeable characters, and so much thoughtless betrayal in this family. The ending I was waiting for was accomplished in just a few final pages and I'm like, what the hell? That's it? Bah, I won't say much more to prevent spoilers but the end made me furious. I don't expect every story to end happily but this was just ridiculous. I would not recommend.
March 30, 2013
Wow, I've lost a friend now that I've finished! I feel like I was sitting in this elderly woman's living room listening to the story of her life, and I ate up every word. Gripping fiction, but could have been non-fiction, it was so believable. Elaine Greenstein grew up Jewish in LA of the 20's and 30's with a fraternal twin sister, in a family of immigrants...and who isn't fascinated with immigration sagas? Add to that the fact that I am a mother of fraternal twin daughters, and I am riveted....WELL worth my time!
January 29, 2013
Reading this book, I was constantly reminded of that old maxim from my Creative Writing degree that was pounded into our heads over & over: SHOW, DON'T TELL. Because Good Lord, does Steinberg want to tell. Pages and pages of exposition. Reams of it! I found myself flicking through, skimming until I saw a spot of dialogue. That's when you know it's a problem.
I did enjoy some of the gritty scenes in the past, eager to view the world of 1930s Los Angeles and the Jewish community of Boyle Heights. But those actual scenes, containing action and dialogue, seemed few and far between the paragraphs of exposition.
The ending felt rushed and pat. I wanted to strangle Barbara and Lainie. In fact, I wanted to strangle the entire cast of characters by the end of it.
I did enjoy some of the gritty scenes in the past, eager to view the world of 1930s Los Angeles and the Jewish community of Boyle Heights. But those actual scenes, containing action and dialogue, seemed few and far between the paragraphs of exposition.
The ending felt rushed and pat. I wanted to strangle Barbara and Lainie. In fact, I wanted to strangle the entire cast of characters by the end of it.
February 9, 2013
The description of this book was spot-on: it really did read like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but for Los Angeles. The characters were wonderfully developed, and the little day-to-day aspects of their lives were just so engaging. The author didn't need an intricate, convoluted plot to keep my interest--her writing did it enough.
I think my biggest praise for this book is the way the author handled the flashbacks and the present day. The story bounced back and forth, from when Elaine was growing up with her sister, to present day when the elderly Elaine was trying to find her sister, who ran away when she was just 18. I don't think I ever read a book where I didn't prefer one time period over the other. Even if it's just by a little, there has always been one I'd like better, and the other that I'd kind of want to rush through to get back to the other story. But with this book, I can honestly say I loved the past and the present equally.
Fingers crossed the author follows this one up nicely!
I think my biggest praise for this book is the way the author handled the flashbacks and the present day. The story bounced back and forth, from when Elaine was growing up with her sister, to present day when the elderly Elaine was trying to find her sister, who ran away when she was just 18. I don't think I ever read a book where I didn't prefer one time period over the other. Even if it's just by a little, there has always been one I'd like better, and the other that I'd kind of want to rush through to get back to the other story. But with this book, I can honestly say I loved the past and the present equally.
Fingers crossed the author follows this one up nicely!
December 19, 2020
3.5 stars rounded up. I'm not sure if someone who isn't familiar with Los Angeles and/or didn't grow up in a Jewish/American community would appreciate this book. As both were true for me, I did. It moves in time between the present and the Boyle Heights Jewish community in the 1930's. It's the story of Barbara and Elaine Greenstein, fraternal twins, and their family and friends, spouses and lovers. But it's really Elaine's story as Barbara disappears quite early on (not a spoiler), although she's quite present in the flashbacks. Her disappearance is the central plot device. Why did she leave? Where did she go? Why did she never contact her family? The resolution was a bit anti-climatic for me and left me kind of hanging, which I didn't appreciate in a book that purported to tie up loose ends from the past.
March 13, 2013
THE TIN HORSE
Janice Steinberg
A multigenerational immigrant family saga depicting the ties that bind in families, and the traumas sometimes only love can transcend.
The novel takes place in the 1920’s and 1930’s in the predominately Jewish community of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles. Sixty years ago Elaine’s twin sister Barbara ran away leaving only a cryptic note. While sorting old papers Elaine unearths what may amount to a clue to her twin sister’s disappearance. This journey is an emotional, heart wrenching experience that is a roller coaster ride for Elaine.
.
THE TIN MAN is well written and gives you a real sense of family and continuity. I really enjoyed the tin horse connection which tied it all together, but the ending overshadowed the rest of the book. I know this is not a popular opinion, just mine. I need to warn you there is a spoiler in the rest of the review, so you may want to stop reading now. Spoiler Alert!
The twin sister, Barbara’s total indifference to the damage and hurt she caused was very difficult for me to swallow. She didn’t even have the common decency to admit the truth and arrange a family reunion, because she would have had to face who and what she was. This one character in the book was such a turn off, I lost sight of the enjoyment of a book that was a very good read.
Janice Steinberg
A multigenerational immigrant family saga depicting the ties that bind in families, and the traumas sometimes only love can transcend.
The novel takes place in the 1920’s and 1930’s in the predominately Jewish community of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles. Sixty years ago Elaine’s twin sister Barbara ran away leaving only a cryptic note. While sorting old papers Elaine unearths what may amount to a clue to her twin sister’s disappearance. This journey is an emotional, heart wrenching experience that is a roller coaster ride for Elaine.
.
THE TIN MAN is well written and gives you a real sense of family and continuity. I really enjoyed the tin horse connection which tied it all together, but the ending overshadowed the rest of the book. I know this is not a popular opinion, just mine. I need to warn you there is a spoiler in the rest of the review, so you may want to stop reading now. Spoiler Alert!
The twin sister, Barbara’s total indifference to the damage and hurt she caused was very difficult for me to swallow. She didn’t even have the common decency to admit the truth and arrange a family reunion, because she would have had to face who and what she was. This one character in the book was such a turn off, I lost sight of the enjoyment of a book that was a very good read.
May 12, 2013
I know this book is a novel, but I kept wanting to check out some of the names on search engines because the characters and situations seemed so real.
THE TIN HORSE is actually more than one story. Elaine Greenstein, a lawyer who specialized in human rights issues, was born in Boyle Heights, a Los Angeles suburb, in 1921, seventeen minutes after her twin sister, Barbara. They grew up in a Jewish environment where many of their neighbors and some of their relatives were new immigrants from Europe.
When the story opens, she is 85 years old and preparing to move to a senior retirement community. With the help of a young archivist, she is going through boxes that had been stored for decades. Some of them belonged to her mother, acquired but not opened after her mother’s death. Among the papers is an item relating to Barbara. Barbara had disappeared, leaving a note saying she was leaving, when they were eighteen years old. The family advertised, used detectives, and other means to try to locate her, all without results.
When Elaine finds a card from a detective with a strange name on the back, she decides to try to find out what happened to her sister. THE TIN HORSE switches between the story of Elaine’s growing up years, her move, and the current hunt for Barbara.
Since most readers will assume that she finds the answer to her search, I don’t think I’m giving anything away when I add that she does find out about Barbara. Learning the reason Barbara left and her reasons for making no contact over the decades raises some interesting questions about what people do to reinvent themselves and why they do it.
I found the story compelling and engrossing. I felt I was there.
THE TIN HORSE is actually more than one story. Elaine Greenstein, a lawyer who specialized in human rights issues, was born in Boyle Heights, a Los Angeles suburb, in 1921, seventeen minutes after her twin sister, Barbara. They grew up in a Jewish environment where many of their neighbors and some of their relatives were new immigrants from Europe.
When the story opens, she is 85 years old and preparing to move to a senior retirement community. With the help of a young archivist, she is going through boxes that had been stored for decades. Some of them belonged to her mother, acquired but not opened after her mother’s death. Among the papers is an item relating to Barbara. Barbara had disappeared, leaving a note saying she was leaving, when they were eighteen years old. The family advertised, used detectives, and other means to try to locate her, all without results.
When Elaine finds a card from a detective with a strange name on the back, she decides to try to find out what happened to her sister. THE TIN HORSE switches between the story of Elaine’s growing up years, her move, and the current hunt for Barbara.
Since most readers will assume that she finds the answer to her search, I don’t think I’m giving anything away when I add that she does find out about Barbara. Learning the reason Barbara left and her reasons for making no contact over the decades raises some interesting questions about what people do to reinvent themselves and why they do it.
I found the story compelling and engrossing. I felt I was there.
February 13, 2013
How do we know who we are? For some, family and culture provide a comfortable path to identity. For others that path can be a prison, and escape at any cost a desperate necessity. The Tin Horse, narrated by octogenarian Elaine Greenstein, traces the history of a complex and interesting family through several generations, from Romania to the now-vanished Jewish enclave of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles County. Elaine, intriguingly based on a cameo character in Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, finds a provocative note in a box of her long-dead mother's things. It's just an address, but it triggers a cascade of memories and a determination to solve the sixty-year-old mystery that has shadowed Elaine all her life - the sudden disappearance at eighteen of her twin sister, Barbara.
Scrupulously researched and characterized by evocative settings and penetrating insights into a half-forgotten time, The Tin Horse is a thought-provoking and delightful read!
Scrupulously researched and characterized by evocative settings and penetrating insights into a half-forgotten time, The Tin Horse is a thought-provoking and delightful read!
July 27, 2015
This is a beautiful book. The story is told in the voice of Elaine Greenstein, a retired attorney.Her tone is conversational and you gradually get to know her as you would in real life. The complexity of her life and her character are gradually revealed as she tells her story. When I first met her, I found her a touch annoying and self absorbed. But as the book progressed I fell in love with Elaine and the whole family.
It's an exciting story with a mysterious disappearance and search for a twin sister. It has the famous fictional detective (played by Humphrey Bogart in the Big Sleep), Philip Marlowe. It has a fascinating setting-the Jewish neighborhood, Boyle Heights, in the 30's. Most of all, though, it is a deeply heartwarming story of family and love.
It's an exciting story with a mysterious disappearance and search for a twin sister. It has the famous fictional detective (played by Humphrey Bogart in the Big Sleep), Philip Marlowe. It has a fascinating setting-the Jewish neighborhood, Boyle Heights, in the 30's. Most of all, though, it is a deeply heartwarming story of family and love.
March 18, 2013
I really wanted to like this book, because it is well-written and the characters are fully-drawn. However, I just couldn't get invested in the central plot, the main character Elaine's search for her missing sister. The author didn't make me care enough about the outcome. If you want to learn more about the history of the 1920’s and 1930’s in the predominately Jewish community of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, then yes, read it. But if you want a compelling, emotional story, you may be disappointed. I would rate it an engaging read, but not an excellent one, which is why I gave it 3 stars.
November 30, 2012
I loved this novel. Behind the main plot of octogenarian Elaine Greenstein's search for her long lost twin sister, is the tale of an immigrant family's struggles to assimilate into American culture while retaining their identity. The story is filled with wonderful characters and a wealth of detail about life in Los Angeles in the 1930s and 40s--but a different Los Angeles than the one usually seen in books and movies. Highly recommended.
April 17, 2020
OMG, I thought I would love this book, but OMG... I don't know if it was me or the book, but WE didn't hit it off at all. I have to say, as did Tammy (Goodreads reviewer) it was a FLOP.. maybe not for you... but gaddddd... just couldn't do any more of it and I only had about 50 pages to go.
I didn't like anybody in the book EXCEPT the grandson... but for the rest of them... gezzzz... I end up reading sections over and over because they mean absolutely nothing to me.. I did appreciate the history of the Jewish religion but the rest of the book... after the first 1/3 the road trip was all downhill.
I can't recommend this to any of my friends... but in the spirit of this book, the rest of you should read it!
1 star
Happy Reading.
I didn't like anybody in the book EXCEPT the grandson... but for the rest of them... gezzzz... I end up reading sections over and over because they mean absolutely nothing to me.. I did appreciate the history of the Jewish religion but the rest of the book... after the first 1/3 the road trip was all downhill.
I can't recommend this to any of my friends... but in the spirit of this book, the rest of you should read it!
1 star
Happy Reading.
January 24, 2016
This was a recommendation from Book Page and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The story opens as Elaine Greenstein is preparing to move into a retirement community and as she is sorting through her things, she finds something that may be a lead to finding her twin sister who left 60 some years ago. Twins, Elaine and Barbara, have never been separated--unless you count the 17 minutes between their births. Their parents live in Boyle Heights like many other Jewish immigrants and the girls and their 2 younger sisters enjoy hearing the stories about the Old World from their parents and their grandfather who claims to have been a tinsmith. In spite of their closeness, the girls are very different people--Elaine more studious and reliable; Barbara, rebellious and flighty. As teenagers they both set their sites on the same young man but for very different reasons. One day, a convergence of situations causes a serious rift between the sisters and Barbara disappears to live her own life somewhere else. Elaine has never heard from her again. She picks up on the little bit of information that she has found and hopes to finally find Barbara again. The story follows Elaine's progress trying to locate her sister interspersed with the back story of their family life. This was a great read detailing a multigenerational family of Jewish immigrants who had a close family life and wanted to do all they could to bring more family over from Europe as Hitler's influence spread and how all of this affected these twin girls so differently.
August 4, 2013
Like any family worth its salt, this fictional family has secrets and dissension, love and hate and loyalties and betrayals. And like the best of fictional families, this one seemed very real to me.
Elaine, one of the daughters in this close-knit family and now an old woman moving into a retirement community, reluctantly decides to try to find out what happened to a sibling decades after last seeing her. From early-Hitler Romania to modern-day Los Angeles, the Jewish family has quite a story to tell but it happens in bits and pieces, jumping back and forth in time, and it's done very well.
The story is much like other immigrant stories, desperation and survival, sometimes triumph, but this one is beautifully written without being flowery, and I love the way it circles around on itself. Relationships are real and flawed. Decisions are not always wise. Some of the loose ends are tied up in the end, but not as just a neat, happy package. It's messy and contradictory and altogether believable. As a fan of well-written sagas, I very much enjoyed this one.
I was given an advance reader's copy of the book for review.
Elaine, one of the daughters in this close-knit family and now an old woman moving into a retirement community, reluctantly decides to try to find out what happened to a sibling decades after last seeing her. From early-Hitler Romania to modern-day Los Angeles, the Jewish family has quite a story to tell but it happens in bits and pieces, jumping back and forth in time, and it's done very well.
The story is much like other immigrant stories, desperation and survival, sometimes triumph, but this one is beautifully written without being flowery, and I love the way it circles around on itself. Relationships are real and flawed. Decisions are not always wise. Some of the loose ends are tied up in the end, but not as just a neat, happy package. It's messy and contradictory and altogether believable. As a fan of well-written sagas, I very much enjoyed this one.
I was given an advance reader's copy of the book for review.
December 10, 2012
I won this book through Goodreads First Reads and I am so happy that I did.
I found this novel to be a very intriguing and captivating story about growing up in an immigrant family in the United States. The story is set in the current, as Elaine, the main character, is in the process of moving to a retirement home. Her twin sister disappeared many, many years ago and Elaine searches for an explanation. There are some unresolved family mysteries, memories, and authentic family interactions. Great characters and details about life in Los Angeles in the 1930's and 1940's.
This book is very well written, engaging and has characters that you feel are family. Not sure how I feel about the ending but it doesn't matter. I loved the book and do recommend!
I found this novel to be a very intriguing and captivating story about growing up in an immigrant family in the United States. The story is set in the current, as Elaine, the main character, is in the process of moving to a retirement home. Her twin sister disappeared many, many years ago and Elaine searches for an explanation. There are some unresolved family mysteries, memories, and authentic family interactions. Great characters and details about life in Los Angeles in the 1930's and 1940's.
This book is very well written, engaging and has characters that you feel are family. Not sure how I feel about the ending but it doesn't matter. I loved the book and do recommend!
February 20, 2013
In her eighties, Elaine Greenstein is finally in the process of moving into a retirement home. Opening in the present day, readers first meet Elaine as she's packing up and organizing the many things she's collected over her life. Because she is a well-known attorney, her alma mater has sent an archivist, Josh, to help her go through her papers and decide what will be donated to the university.
Read my full review at So Obsessed With!
Read my full review at So Obsessed With!
February 5, 2013
Gosh, have I had a dry spell and it doesn't look to get better.
This book was put aside so many times, I thought to never finish it. And it has to be really bad for me not to, so I persevered.
Told from the memories and recollections of a now 85-year-old woman, the reader bounces back and forth between the past and present. It got tedious. And the stories just weren't riviting enough to keep the reader engaged. Formulaic ending, just not worth the time.
This book was put aside so many times, I thought to never finish it. And it has to be really bad for me not to, so I persevered.
Told from the memories and recollections of a now 85-year-old woman, the reader bounces back and forth between the past and present. It got tedious. And the stories just weren't riviting enough to keep the reader engaged. Formulaic ending, just not worth the time.
January 1, 2013
I love this story, it starts with our lead lady in the present and yet takes us back in time to the days of her youth. A story of family that survives the loss of a child although not thru death. A mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat asking how is that possible. I'm looking forward to more by this author.
I received a free copy thru Goodreads first reads.
I received a free copy thru Goodreads first reads.
November 16, 2017
Elaine Greenstein's twin sister Barbara disappears from her live at the age of 18. As she packs up her belongings to move to a retirement community she comes across a clue to her sisters whereabouts.
Jumping between the past and the present the story of the Greenstein family unfolds, from old Romenia to Southern California over many generations and the betrayals that eventually leads to Barbara leaving.
I really enjoyed this novel. The characters are well developed and none of them are only good or bad but very complex. The casual betrayals throughout felt a bit forced at times but did not distract from the overall story.
Jumping between the past and the present the story of the Greenstein family unfolds, from old Romenia to Southern California over many generations and the betrayals that eventually leads to Barbara leaving.
I really enjoyed this novel. The characters are well developed and none of them are only good or bad but very complex. The casual betrayals throughout felt a bit forced at times but did not distract from the overall story.
June 10, 2019
Family dynamics and Jewish culture. Twin sisters with very very diverse interests and personalities. Interesting read on the Jewish community in Boyle Heights. One sister "disappears" and I didn't really care to find out what happened to her.
October 20, 2019
Loved this book!
Fabulous book! I loved all of the characters and their complicated relationships. It is true no two people in any family have the same experiences. I love that
Fabulous book! I loved all of the characters and their complicated relationships. It is true no two people in any family have the same experiences. I love that
February 27, 2021
At first I was dubious, & thought a bit hard to follow, but glad I stayed with it - good story about family relationships & the secrets that we keep.
October 20, 2024
This was only 2.5 stars for me. It started off being interesting but the pace was way too slow. I read about 60% and then skipped to the last couple chapters. Those weren’t great for me either sadly.
July 10, 2023
Very evocative. Author has quite a knack for transporting the reader into a new world. It was fascinating to learn so much about a community I had little knowledge of.
February 23, 2013
Say that it's the first night of a writing class at UCSD in the mid-1980's and the other writers seem interesting but the teacher (last minute replacement) seems awful and then 3-4 women in the parking lot ask one another, are you coming back next week? When no one says yes there's only one thing to do - start meeting on your own. Then imagine that almost 30 years later, in a different part of the country, you learn that your former writing colleague has finished a novel, had it taken up by Frantzen's agent and that it's being published by Random House. Obviously you have to lie down for a few days. Then place a hold at the library, even though it's not yet released, so that they see DEMAND and start bragging.
When I knew Janice Steinberg she was already much more professionally established. She wrote reviews for the L.A. Times, she was working on mysteries, she had worked in public radio, had a great house and really terrific hair. Here it is 30 years later and about 400 reviews later and she looks the same in the author photo. Her hair does what I've always wanted mine to do.
Better that I'm jealous of the hair than the writing because I know that I will never be in her league as a novelist. I'm delighted to say that long ago acquaintance completely withstanding this is an excellent book. If there is another novel that captures the Brooklyn of a section of Los Angeles before the second World War I have never heard of it. The Tin Horse made a fascinating counterpoint to The Orchardist before it. There seemed no greater distance than between Eastern Washington of the late 1800's and L.A. in the 30's. But at the heart of each of these novels is a missing woman. Just as I believed in the orchard I believed in Boyle Heights. As the novel progressed, going back and forth between past and present there was building tension and mystery that had me sneaking to the book during the day, and ultimately turning on the light to finish it at 5:45 a.m. (and I'm not a morning person).
Without spoiling the entire novel I will say that with any plot that involves a mystery there is an added challenge in the endings. It can seem so anticlimactic. Steinberg succeeds.
When I knew Janice Steinberg she was already much more professionally established. She wrote reviews for the L.A. Times, she was working on mysteries, she had worked in public radio, had a great house and really terrific hair. Here it is 30 years later and about 400 reviews later and she looks the same in the author photo. Her hair does what I've always wanted mine to do.
Better that I'm jealous of the hair than the writing because I know that I will never be in her league as a novelist. I'm delighted to say that long ago acquaintance completely withstanding this is an excellent book. If there is another novel that captures the Brooklyn of a section of Los Angeles before the second World War I have never heard of it. The Tin Horse made a fascinating counterpoint to The Orchardist before it. There seemed no greater distance than between Eastern Washington of the late 1800's and L.A. in the 30's. But at the heart of each of these novels is a missing woman. Just as I believed in the orchard I believed in Boyle Heights. As the novel progressed, going back and forth between past and present there was building tension and mystery that had me sneaking to the book during the day, and ultimately turning on the light to finish it at 5:45 a.m. (and I'm not a morning person).
Without spoiling the entire novel I will say that with any plot that involves a mystery there is an added challenge in the endings. It can seem so anticlimactic. Steinberg succeeds.
March 15, 2013
In the opening scenes of "The Tin Horse: A Novel," we meet Elaine Greenstein, sorting through boxes that hold the memorabilia of her life and the lives of her parents.
Elaine has had a rich and full life as an attorney, and the causes she took on have made her something of a celebrity in her ranks. A young man named Josh, an archivist, is helping her decide which of her mementos to donate to USC . Because Elaine is finally leaving her home in Santa Monica for Rancho Manana, a retirement home that she has dubbed the Ranch of No Tomorrow.
Elaine's wry sense of humor comes through as she tells the story in her first person narrative. A story that sweeps across the miles and the years to the homes where her ancestors lived, in the Europe of the Nazi years. Starting over in the Jewish communities of America would be like a fulfillment of their dreams. But what happened to each of them, including the struggles, the bigotry, and the reversals, would inform their lives forever.
Moving back and forth with the story, we are sometimes in the present as Elaine moves and settles into her new life. And then we move backward, watching as the answers begin to unfold. We learn many of the secrets, fears, dreams, and longings of the first and second generations of the Greenstein family. And when the secrets are revealed, we see the betrayals beneath them.
What has created the special link between Mama and Barbara? What is the significance of the tin horse? And how will Barbara's impulsive behavior lead to something she does right after their high school graduation? How will her actions leave a hole in Elaine's heart, and change the choices she makes from then on?
What will Elaine discover in the boxes that ultimately provides answers about her sister, and how will she finally discover what happened to her?
Richly layered with history, emotion, and the complex tapestry of family life, this is a story with true-to-life characters and settings that fully engaged me. Five stars.
Elaine has had a rich and full life as an attorney, and the causes she took on have made her something of a celebrity in her ranks. A young man named Josh, an archivist, is helping her decide which of her mementos to donate to USC . Because Elaine is finally leaving her home in Santa Monica for Rancho Manana, a retirement home that she has dubbed the Ranch of No Tomorrow.
Elaine's wry sense of humor comes through as she tells the story in her first person narrative. A story that sweeps across the miles and the years to the homes where her ancestors lived, in the Europe of the Nazi years. Starting over in the Jewish communities of America would be like a fulfillment of their dreams. But what happened to each of them, including the struggles, the bigotry, and the reversals, would inform their lives forever.
Moving back and forth with the story, we are sometimes in the present as Elaine moves and settles into her new life. And then we move backward, watching as the answers begin to unfold. We learn many of the secrets, fears, dreams, and longings of the first and second generations of the Greenstein family. And when the secrets are revealed, we see the betrayals beneath them.
What has created the special link between Mama and Barbara? What is the significance of the tin horse? And how will Barbara's impulsive behavior lead to something she does right after their high school graduation? How will her actions leave a hole in Elaine's heart, and change the choices she makes from then on?
What will Elaine discover in the boxes that ultimately provides answers about her sister, and how will she finally discover what happened to her?
Richly layered with history, emotion, and the complex tapestry of family life, this is a story with true-to-life characters and settings that fully engaged me. Five stars.
April 26, 2013
The Tin Horse
by
Janice Steinberg
My "in a nutshell" summary...
Downsizing and old memories lead to past hidden revelations.
My thoughts after reading this book...
My thoughts sort of rambled as I read the final pages of this book. It was truly a book of family stories. It was the stories of a Jewish family living in Southern California in the early twenties...actually...it was a present day story, too. As Elaine preps her house for her move to a retirement community...papers and letters and photos bring to mind her life as a child growing up with her twin sister, Barbara. The stories that meander through her mind are of her parents, her Zayde...grandfather...her other sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, boyfriends, husbands and children...lol...just as I said earlier...a story of families. Probably the puzzle that still looms is the one that concerns Elaine's twin, Barbara. She left on her own when she was 18 and pretty much remains gone.
What I loved about this book...
I think I loved the complexity of this family's relationships. Things were not totally hidden but things were not always out in the open, either. I loved the significance of the tin horse...that was a lovely touch.
What I did not love...
I was not enamored with Barbara or Elaine. They were not appealing characters to me.
Final thoughts...
I appreciate this book but I did not love it. I enjoyed the stories but I was not emotionally caught up in them. I am not sorry that I read it because I liked the book but it did not really touch my heart the way some books do.
by
Janice Steinberg
My "in a nutshell" summary...
Downsizing and old memories lead to past hidden revelations.
My thoughts after reading this book...
My thoughts sort of rambled as I read the final pages of this book. It was truly a book of family stories. It was the stories of a Jewish family living in Southern California in the early twenties...actually...it was a present day story, too. As Elaine preps her house for her move to a retirement community...papers and letters and photos bring to mind her life as a child growing up with her twin sister, Barbara. The stories that meander through her mind are of her parents, her Zayde...grandfather...her other sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, boyfriends, husbands and children...lol...just as I said earlier...a story of families. Probably the puzzle that still looms is the one that concerns Elaine's twin, Barbara. She left on her own when she was 18 and pretty much remains gone.
What I loved about this book...
I think I loved the complexity of this family's relationships. Things were not totally hidden but things were not always out in the open, either. I loved the significance of the tin horse...that was a lovely touch.
What I did not love...
I was not enamored with Barbara or Elaine. They were not appealing characters to me.
Final thoughts...
I appreciate this book but I did not love it. I enjoyed the stories but I was not emotionally caught up in them. I am not sorry that I read it because I liked the book but it did not really touch my heart the way some books do.
December 18, 2012
I love books about ordinary people living their everyday lives. I enjoy them even more when they involve other races, religions, or cultures and expose me to worlds that I would otherwise never see from the sheltered corner of my life. This is one of those books.
The Tin Horse tells the story of Elaine Greenstein, born in the 1920's, who grows up in Los Angeles in a Jewish community. The book opens with Elaine going through boxes of keepsakes and papers as she prepares to move into a retirement community. It is revealed that she is a twin, and that her sister, Barbara, disappears when they are 18. The book takes you through the family life of the girls and what may have led to her sister's leaving. There are interesting stories along the way, such as the one about her grandfather and how he ends up in America, another about her mother, who runs from Romania for the US, and what it was like to be Jewish in LA before and after WWII. There is also the drama of Elaine and Barbara and the boyfriend they "share", and family secrets are revealed that Elaine may not be happy with.
The story moves from past and present alternately, telling stories from the past involving all sorts of interesting family members, and then moving to the present to detail the search for her lost sister.
I found Tin Horse a captivating read and enjoyed the tale of a Jewish family growing up in America with a mystery thrown in on the side.
The Tin Horse tells the story of Elaine Greenstein, born in the 1920's, who grows up in Los Angeles in a Jewish community. The book opens with Elaine going through boxes of keepsakes and papers as she prepares to move into a retirement community. It is revealed that she is a twin, and that her sister, Barbara, disappears when they are 18. The book takes you through the family life of the girls and what may have led to her sister's leaving. There are interesting stories along the way, such as the one about her grandfather and how he ends up in America, another about her mother, who runs from Romania for the US, and what it was like to be Jewish in LA before and after WWII. There is also the drama of Elaine and Barbara and the boyfriend they "share", and family secrets are revealed that Elaine may not be happy with.
The story moves from past and present alternately, telling stories from the past involving all sorts of interesting family members, and then moving to the present to detail the search for her lost sister.
I found Tin Horse a captivating read and enjoyed the tale of a Jewish family growing up in America with a mystery thrown in on the side.
February 5, 2013
I liked this novel very much, and I'm not just saying that because the author is a friend. In fact, knowing the author made for a slight distraction in my reading experience, as I remembered conversations we'd had or realized that in my mind's eye the narrator character (Elaine) was looking a lot like Janice. But those were very minor concerns next to the sheer pleasure of reading my way through this story. One-phrase summation: it's like I Remember Mama, with a smart, sharp edge. There's nothing treacly or sentimental about it at all, besides which it has the big shadow of the Holocaust looming at its edges as the eastern European Jewish Greenstein family love and misunderstand, comfort and afflict one another in 1930s/40s LA. With the added bonuses of Elaine looking back on it all from her 80s, as she grapples once again with the mystery and pain of her twin sister's disappearance in their late teens - family stories that reach back to the old country and the immigrant experience - and a guest appearance by Raymond Chandler's famous detective Philip Marlowe. Stories upon stories, full of psychological astuteness and human complexities. My only slight quibble is with the final scene/image - I won't spoil it if you haven't read it - which my own aging body wonders at, altho when I think of some people I know . . . Another book it put me in mind of was Lisa See's Shanghai Girls, so if you liked that novel you'll like this one.
December 24, 2012
I won The Tin Horse as a Goodreads prize, and I was very much looking forward to loving it. While I did become invested in the characters which the book centers around, I thought there were missed opportunities as well. The story tells of Elaine, her wild sister Barbara, and their family in the height of anti-semitic times in America, as well as relatives that are enduring much worse in their home countries. It is a coming of age tale that is abruptly complicated by the voluntary disappearance of Barbara. Elaine must then continue her life in which there is no respite from the questions about whether her sister is alive, thinking of her, or worse...dead? Fast forward to her retirement years, where in the midst of working with an archivist assigned to help organize and catalog her long and successful career as a lawyer, she discovers clues that she believes may lead to her long lost sister, or at the very least provide an answer to some of her questions. I would have loved to see more than just glimpses of Elaine's adult life and how her sister's vanishing affected her relationships with her children, her career, etc. With that said, I really enjoyed the novel, and would have given it 3.5 stars if possible. I would be interested in seeing a second novel focus on Barbara's journey after she leaves her family.
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