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As Close to Us as Breathing
In 1948, a small stretch of the Woodmont, Connecticut shoreline, affectionately named "Bagel Beach," has long been a summer destination for Jewish families. Here sisters Ada, Vivie, and Bec assemble at their beloved family cottage, with children in tow and weekend-only husbands who arrive each Friday in time for the Sabbath meal.
During the weekdays, freedom reigns. Ada, the family beauty, relaxes and grows more playful, unimpeded by her rule-driven, religious husband. Vivie, once terribly wronged by her sister, is now the family diplomat and an increasingly inventive chef. Unmarried Bec finds herself forced to choose between the family-centric life she's always known and a passion-filled life with the married man with whom she's had a secret years-long affair.
But when a terrible accident occurs on the sisters' watch, a summer of hope and self-discovery transforms into a lifetime of atonement and loss for members of this close-knit clan. Seen through the eyes of Molly, who was twelve years old when she witnessed the accident, this is the story of a tragedy and its aftermath, of expanding lives painfully collapsed. Can Molly, decades after the event, draw from her aunt Bec's hard-won wisdom and free herself from the burden that destroyed so many others?
Elizabeth Poliner is a masterful storyteller, a brilliant observer of human nature, and in As Close to Us as Breathing she has created an unforgettable meditation on grief, guilt, and the boundaries of identity and love.
During the weekdays, freedom reigns. Ada, the family beauty, relaxes and grows more playful, unimpeded by her rule-driven, religious husband. Vivie, once terribly wronged by her sister, is now the family diplomat and an increasingly inventive chef. Unmarried Bec finds herself forced to choose between the family-centric life she's always known and a passion-filled life with the married man with whom she's had a secret years-long affair.
But when a terrible accident occurs on the sisters' watch, a summer of hope and self-discovery transforms into a lifetime of atonement and loss for members of this close-knit clan. Seen through the eyes of Molly, who was twelve years old when she witnessed the accident, this is the story of a tragedy and its aftermath, of expanding lives painfully collapsed. Can Molly, decades after the event, draw from her aunt Bec's hard-won wisdom and free herself from the burden that destroyed so many others?
Elizabeth Poliner is a masterful storyteller, a brilliant observer of human nature, and in As Close to Us as Breathing she has created an unforgettable meditation on grief, guilt, and the boundaries of identity and love.
354 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2016
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7363 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Poliner
6 books52 followersElizabeth Poliner is the author of As Close to Us as Breathing, a novel; Mutual Life & Casualty, a novel-in-stories; What You Know in Your Hands, a poetry collection; and Sudden Fog, a poetry chapbook. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared widely in literary journals including the Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Colorado Review. She is a recipient of seven individual artist grants from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, fiction fellowships to the Wesleyan and Sewanee writers’ conferences, and artist residencies at the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, the Wurlitzer Foundation, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She teaches creative writing in the MFA and undergraduate programs at Hollins University where she is an associate professor.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 631 reviews
March 16, 2016
(2.5) The writing is measured and lovely, and I appreciated the picture of late-1940s life for a Jewish family, but the pace was killing me: this is set in one summer, but with constant flashbacks and flash-forwards to other family stories, such that although we learn on page 1 that a character has died, even by the 60% mark (where I finally gave up) I still had not learned how. Also, the narrator is telling everything in retrospect from 1999, but there is too little about her life at that present moment. I would direct readers to
The End of the Point
instead.
January 27, 2016
Something about the setting of this book reminds me of Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume. The Jewish family spending their summers on a beach in New England sometime after the war, maybe. However, unlike any book by Judy Blume, this book was like a badly sewn quilt -- lots of pieces sloppily held together, with no way to warm you.
The story kind of dripped along. There was nothing wrong with it, and at times I was immersed in the characters. However, the entire novel felt like a bunch of short stories, good short stories, ones that I enjoyed reading, but not a cohesive novel. The synopsis of the book on the back cover leads one to believe that the story is about a family dealing with the tragic accident of their young son, David, which is only somewhat true. Much of the story is told in awkward flashback. There is a lot of jumping back and forth in time, with some vague plot devices to try to hold the whole thing together. By the end I knew each of the three sisters fairly well, but each of their stories seemed so separate from the others, and I felt there was no relation between one sister's story to the rest of the bigger story. I think the author was trying to make this one big story about a Jewish family in the late 1940's and how they drift apart and together, but it just didn't work. There was no way I could experience that larger story because the whole thing was so awkwardly told.
I really enjoyed the smaller pieces of the story, especially how each sister found their way to the summer of 1948, but because the larger story was so sloppily put together even the smaller details of the sister's individual stories were lost. I wanted to hear more about Bec's marriage. I wanted to know more about Vivie and Leo's relationship. I wanted to know how Ada and Mort stayed together. There is no information about these questions at all. By the time the story was over all information on the characters had either been ended much too abruptly, or they had been set adrift to fend for themselves.
I can see what Elizabeth Poliner was trying to do, but I don't think she did it very successfully. There were several good chapters, but as a whole, this novel sinks like a stone into the waters of Bagel Beach.
The story kind of dripped along. There was nothing wrong with it, and at times I was immersed in the characters. However, the entire novel felt like a bunch of short stories, good short stories, ones that I enjoyed reading, but not a cohesive novel. The synopsis of the book on the back cover leads one to believe that the story is about a family dealing with the tragic accident of their young son, David, which is only somewhat true. Much of the story is told in awkward flashback. There is a lot of jumping back and forth in time, with some vague plot devices to try to hold the whole thing together. By the end I knew each of the three sisters fairly well, but each of their stories seemed so separate from the others, and I felt there was no relation between one sister's story to the rest of the bigger story. I think the author was trying to make this one big story about a Jewish family in the late 1940's and how they drift apart and together, but it just didn't work. There was no way I could experience that larger story because the whole thing was so awkwardly told.
I really enjoyed the smaller pieces of the story, especially how each sister found their way to the summer of 1948, but because the larger story was so sloppily put together even the smaller details of the sister's individual stories were lost. I wanted to hear more about Bec's marriage. I wanted to know more about Vivie and Leo's relationship. I wanted to know how Ada and Mort stayed together. There is no information about these questions at all. By the time the story was over all information on the characters had either been ended much too abruptly, or they had been set adrift to fend for themselves.
I can see what Elizabeth Poliner was trying to do, but I don't think she did it very successfully. There were several good chapters, but as a whole, this novel sinks like a stone into the waters of Bagel Beach.
June 16, 2016
Usually I enjoy a novel that moves back and forth in time, compelling me not just by what will happen, but by how it will happen. I'm also a sucker for a coming-of-age narrator, a historic setting and some Jewish family drama. So this book has all the right components; and it's good, memorable, but it never quite clicked into full gear. The timeline jumps kept me from sinking into the story and Molly's point of view limited my ability to truly connect with the characters.
Certainly a good beach read, but not great.
Certainly a good beach read, but not great.
December 2, 2016
Strong, very strong. Rich use of contemporary devices such as opening with the death of a character (Chronicle of a Death Foretold or Donna Tartt's The Secret History) and spiraling chronology, accumulation of fragmented details (a place, a family, a culture) and multi-focality (with coda in the narrator's present). I can see that some readers were irked or bewildered but I think this is a lovely, literary, teacher's choice for Jewish American Lit or Jewish Women Writers (though I know nothing about Poliner). It diagnoses well the constraints on Jews and the liberties some were beginning to take, with sex, sexuality, entrepreneurship and divorce, given the different pressures on Jewish women and men.
Great stuff.
Great stuff.
April 11, 2016
I just plain didn't like this book.
There were so many inconsistencies. The story takes place in 1948. At least the main part of it. The author jumps between the 1930s and 1990s, and everywhere in between, making it difficult to follow sometimes.
One minute the characters are entrenched in Jewish culture, observing holidays, old traditions, and the next are embracing "progressive" thinking. Just too surreal. During the 1950s, people seldom divorced, much less, the woman going back to her maiden name, live together (oh, the sin!!), or did unmarried couples go on vacation together.
I am not Jewish. I do not speak Yiddish. I am not opposed to learning, but the whole culture, observances, words, and whatever else was thrown in was over the top. Half of the book is Jewish this, Jewish that, observing this, observing that, and on and on. What really bothered me was their prejudice against other people, be it their ethnicity, beliefs, or even their food! I get that this happened a long time ago, but it still bothered me. And for the mother to go completely crazy because her teenage son likes an Irish girl?
The little part that I thought totally ridiculous ~ the mothers let their 13 and 15 year old daughters go out in the evening wearing bright red lipstick! This was 1948!
The pièce de résistance was the whole thing with sexual identity/homosexual issue. I absolutely DETEST when an author takes a socially "hot button/topic" and interjects it into an historical story. Why? It was just so absolutely unbelievable and absurd. This was the 1950s!!!!!!! And moving in together? So unimaginable for that time period.
I would NOT recommend this book to ANYONE. I can't even believe I wasted my time reading this. Definitely a TBS (To Be Skipped) book.
There were so many inconsistencies. The story takes place in 1948. At least the main part of it. The author jumps between the 1930s and 1990s, and everywhere in between, making it difficult to follow sometimes.
One minute the characters are entrenched in Jewish culture, observing holidays, old traditions, and the next are embracing "progressive" thinking. Just too surreal. During the 1950s, people seldom divorced, much less, the woman going back to her maiden name, live together (oh, the sin!!), or did unmarried couples go on vacation together.
I am not Jewish. I do not speak Yiddish. I am not opposed to learning, but the whole culture, observances, words, and whatever else was thrown in was over the top. Half of the book is Jewish this, Jewish that, observing this, observing that, and on and on. What really bothered me was their prejudice against other people, be it their ethnicity, beliefs, or even their food! I get that this happened a long time ago, but it still bothered me. And for the mother to go completely crazy because her teenage son likes an Irish girl?
The little part that I thought totally ridiculous ~ the mothers let their 13 and 15 year old daughters go out in the evening wearing bright red lipstick! This was 1948!
The pièce de résistance was the whole thing with sexual identity/homosexual issue. I absolutely DETEST when an author takes a socially "hot button/topic" and interjects it into an historical story. Why? It was just so absolutely unbelievable and absurd. This was the 1950s!!!!!!! And moving in together? So unimaginable for that time period.
I would NOT recommend this book to ANYONE. I can't even believe I wasted my time reading this. Definitely a TBS (To Be Skipped) book.
June 5, 2016
As Close to Us as Breathing is the story of three sisters who spend every summer at their inherited beach house in a Jewish enclave on the coast of Connecticut. The story begins during the summer of 1948, one that ends in tragedy. But spiraling out from the central tragedy are the stories that make up this family. Some look back into the past, some jump into the future, but all are moving, sensitive portraits of humans in times of happiness and pain. altogether providing a gorgeous meditation on love and family.
January 29, 2016
This is a multi-generational novel about a Jewish family and a how a tragedy affects all of their lives through the years. The novel begins in 1948 as the women and children of the family go to their cottage at the beach in Connecticut for the summer - their husbands only come up on weekends. The family consists of three sisters and their children. The reader is told very early on that a tragedy occurs that summer that affects everyone but it isn't until very late in the book that the tragedy is totally explained. The book switches back into history when the sisters were young and then into modern day when the children are grown up and we see how everyone dealt with the tragedy that happened that summer. I had a little trouble following all of the time changes and different stories but once I finished the book and saw the entire story and it all made sense, I appreciated the story and what the author was trying to do. I enjoyed the book and would read this author again.
January 5, 2023
Disappointed
This book is so slow to read. But like I was trying to walk in inches of mud trying to get through this book.
I just don’t recommend it even though the concept this is good
This book is so slow to read. But like I was trying to walk in inches of mud trying to get through this book.
I just don’t recommend it even though the concept this is good
March 9, 2016
The main theme of the story is atonement and the story is written with a lot of feeling. There is a strong sense of melancholy throughout the book, but it's just the part of the story, it does not detract from the story in any way. It makes it richer. It's like the personality of the family coming through the pages. The story takes place in 1948 along the Connecticut shore, town of Woodmont, but a place referred to as "Bagel Beach", because it is the summer getaway for Jewish families. The author lets the reader know from the beginning that little Davy will die at the end of the summer, but it is done in such a way it enhances the story. We better understand the dynamic and all that happens to this family. The narrator is teen-aged girl named Molly and the family is her mother Ada, father Mort, brothers Howard (18 and heading off to college) & Davy (who is about 5 or 6). There is also her aunt Vivie and uncle Leo and their daughter Nina, who is a couple years older than Molly and finally her aunt Bec, who is unmarried and her uncle Nelson (Mort's brother) also unmarried. Ada is atoning for taking Vivie's boyfriend back when they were teens and she also atones for Davy's death. Vivie ends up marrying Leo almost like a consolation prize, always wondering what her life could have been like. Bec is atoning for turning her back on her faith, doing what she knew was wrong. Bec too, feels responsible for Davy's death. Mort is atoning for not emphasizing the importance of his faith to his son, Howard, and he blames Ada for Davy's death. Nelson atones for what he perceives as his overall failure at life, his work and love life. Leo regrets never finishing school and so he tries so hard to self educate himself and wants his daughter Nina to succeed. Howard atones for the way he treated Nina and goes on to become a doctor due to the guilt he has, not being able to save his brother Davy. Nina struggles with who she is, her sexuality. The author very sweetly illustrated Nina's realization of her homosexuality in a scene with her friend Estelle. I also liked the way the author subtly showed the guilt that Nina had over Davy's death, when she over tips the paper boys. The book shows how our actions and choices affect more than just our lives, those around us are affected too. Bec's thought toward the end of the story, "The thing about family, you're either in or you're out."
July 19, 2016
This is a multigenerational story about a Jewish family. The setting was a summer cottage in Woodmont on the Connecticut shoreline.
I enjoyed the book but felt the characters were not brought to life. Nina would get lost in the pages of a book, I could relate to that! I thought the accident was mentioned too early in the story, it's at 68% before we know what happened, a lot of filler in between. The accident shapes the life's of the children once they become adults and the adults also. Grief is something that changes a family forever!
I love books about sisters and there were three, Ada, Vivie and Bec. The sister storyline was what I enjoyed most about this book.
"The thing about family, she knew, was that you were either in or you were out."
Bec
I enjoyed the book but felt the characters were not brought to life. Nina would get lost in the pages of a book, I could relate to that! I thought the accident was mentioned too early in the story, it's at 68% before we know what happened, a lot of filler in between. The accident shapes the life's of the children once they become adults and the adults also. Grief is something that changes a family forever!
I love books about sisters and there were three, Ada, Vivie and Bec. The sister storyline was what I enjoyed most about this book.
"The thing about family, she knew, was that you were either in or you were out."
Bec
May 6, 2016
4.5 stars. Excellent Jewish family saga with characters you truly cared about. Issues not normally seen during the time period in particular stood out. Loved the writing and loved the ending.
May 31, 2016
Agree with other reviewers that the first half really dragged on and with Becky that all the talk of the impending death was very distracting. But when it all came together it worked to show loss, sadness, guilt , and anger and all those emotions that are so hard to capture. Really couldn't have done it any other way. I did take a star off because it seriously took me 2 weeks to get to the point though.
November 10, 2015
This is a great book. It is a wonderful story about a family that goes to the beach each summer. One summer a terrible accident happens and how it affects the family. The main character is a 12 year old Molly.
It is beautifully written and was enjoyable to read.
I won this on Goodreads.
It is beautifully written and was enjoyable to read.
I won this on Goodreads.
March 19, 2017
The exquisite writing of Poliner is what saved this book for me. Everyone in this multigenerational story seems to be so very sad except for little Davy. And even at their happier moments there was sadness. There is a tragedy that is mentioned in the beginning of the story and throughout the book the reader is given bits and pieces as to what happened and how one incident pertained to all the characters involved. Not being Jewish I learned a lot about Jewish life, customs and traditions in 1948. Is this how it was back then and how close does it relate in the year 2017? Maybe my Jewish friends can answer that for me after reading this novel. 3.5 stars.
February 4, 2016
Poliner's tale of family strife and grief jumps back and forth in time which may bother some, but this book is so worth reading. Traditional Jewish life in late 1940's America (Connecticut seashore) is brought to vivid life. Three sisters spend their summers in the family cottage - husband's coming on Friday's for the weekends - in the Jewish section of Woodmont, CN. She fills her story with tradition and language so you know what these people are like. Each member gets their story told, before and after the tragedy that shakes their lives. I admire that Poliner opted to keep her narrator's life more secret. Molly, the daughter of one of the sisters, tells the tale. This worked so well for me. Knowing she is intimately involved with these people, yet knowing little about her, made me want to read deeper. She may be criticized for this, but I love her choice. Her writing reveals that the glue holding family together is not always permanent and often needs some reinforcement.
March 4, 2018
3.5 stars on this one from me. Elizabeth Poliner paints a rich picture of this extended Jewish family and their life during the school year and summers at a beach house. There are three sisters that share a close bond and the main narrator is Molly, age 12 during the pivotal summer.
I must admit I struggled a bit with how she told this story. I'm used to books that have a contemporary author and alternating chapters with events in the past. This one seemed to tell the story in chunks here and there and not at chapter breaks. While it was masterfully told, I was wishing it would be in chronological order, I think I would have enjoyed that more. When she tells you what happens at the beginning, it made me feel like I already knew the story. I like the slow build more.
This one will make for a good book club discussion.
I must admit I struggled a bit with how she told this story. I'm used to books that have a contemporary author and alternating chapters with events in the past. This one seemed to tell the story in chunks here and there and not at chapter breaks. While it was masterfully told, I was wishing it would be in chronological order, I think I would have enjoyed that more. When she tells you what happens at the beginning, it made me feel like I already knew the story. I like the slow build more.
This one will make for a good book club discussion.
June 27, 2016
Why did I finish this book? I think I was looking for the plot. There really wasn't one. This was all a bunch of anecdotes wrapping around a major event and the years after it. There were characters that were seriously screwed up before the event, Mort in particular, but you never find out why. The book's description led me to believe it had so much more to offer than it really did.
August 3, 2016
This was a story of a Jewish family and their summer at the beach. It
covers several generations and goes back and forth from the past to the
present. I did not really enjoy this story as I did not feel any real warmth
between the characters. It was slow and did nor have much excitement.
The story dealt with their grief over losing a son and guilt they felt for many
years.
covers several generations and goes back and forth from the past to the
present. I did not really enjoy this story as I did not feel any real warmth
between the characters. It was slow and did nor have much excitement.
The story dealt with their grief over losing a son and guilt they felt for many
years.
May 31, 2016
Took a while to get into it but I really liked how they would go from past to present and in between in one chapter. Interesting to see how everyone was affected by Davy's death even before you knew what happened.
May 17, 2016
Pick another. Too slow-moving, too frustrating. The idea is bright, but the book isn't.
January 9, 2017
This story about a Jewish family in the 40s is well written and surprisingly full of tension given that the author tells you the ending in the first chapter.
April 28, 2017
As Close to Us as Breathing by Elizabeth Poliner is a 2016 Lee Boudreaux Books publication.
I found this book because it made it on to one of those library Booklists or maybe I found it recommended in one of the many books related emails I receive, but either way, it was a short wait at the library and sounded like a book I would like.
Sadly, this one just didn’t work for me.
The book is centered around three Jewish sisters in 1948 where a terrible tragedy brings into sharp focus the strengths and weaknesses of the family and how their lives were forever changed from that point on, setting them on paths they never could have envisioned.
For me, the story was too melancholy. It seems that no one really got a happily ever after or even a modicum of contentment, but was plagued by ghosts, regrets, poor choices, or from just plain bad luck, with no second chances or enough redemption, which might have been a bit too much reality for me right now.
I suppose the ending left us with a slight hope that our narrator, Molly, will finally find a way to close the door on all of that grief, guilt, and sadness, by visiting the past one final time and then hopefully moving forward out of that net of discontent and will find her own version of ‘freedom’.
The book left me feeling slightly depressed and glum, which is not a good thing, especially when you aren’t expecting to have that type of experience with a book.
While the writing isn’t bad and the characters are well drawn, if not all that likable or relatable, the fact remains, I just didn’t enjoy the book, which must be reflected in my rating.
2 stars
I found this book because it made it on to one of those library Booklists or maybe I found it recommended in one of the many books related emails I receive, but either way, it was a short wait at the library and sounded like a book I would like.
Sadly, this one just didn’t work for me.
The book is centered around three Jewish sisters in 1948 where a terrible tragedy brings into sharp focus the strengths and weaknesses of the family and how their lives were forever changed from that point on, setting them on paths they never could have envisioned.
For me, the story was too melancholy. It seems that no one really got a happily ever after or even a modicum of contentment, but was plagued by ghosts, regrets, poor choices, or from just plain bad luck, with no second chances or enough redemption, which might have been a bit too much reality for me right now.
I suppose the ending left us with a slight hope that our narrator, Molly, will finally find a way to close the door on all of that grief, guilt, and sadness, by visiting the past one final time and then hopefully moving forward out of that net of discontent and will find her own version of ‘freedom’.
The book left me feeling slightly depressed and glum, which is not a good thing, especially when you aren’t expecting to have that type of experience with a book.
While the writing isn’t bad and the characters are well drawn, if not all that likable or relatable, the fact remains, I just didn’t enjoy the book, which must be reflected in my rating.
2 stars
October 29, 2016
Another one I gave up on in despair. This writer can't seem to stop shooting herself in the foot every few pages. Instead of building to suspense or revelation, she repeatedly reminds us of what's going to happen later in the story that will be major and shocking and tragic. Yeah...the kid's going to die by getting run over by an ice cream truck. Don't tell...SHOW...
I can't even consider this worthy of a spoiler alert, because the writer does nothing but spoil her own story before it even happens.
And for the second time in as many days, I'm at a loss as to how this got past an editor; how it got published at all.
I can't even consider this worthy of a spoiler alert, because the writer does nothing but spoil her own story before it even happens.
And for the second time in as many days, I'm at a loss as to how this got past an editor; how it got published at all.
October 17, 2015
A soft, contained story of a family beset by tragedy. It's not usually the type of book I'd pick up if not for a book club or author event. The time jumps felt rough and disjointed to me. I never really settled in to enjoy it or felt a true connection with the characters. Wasn't for me, though others may enjoy it more.
(I received an ARC of this novel in preparation for Hachette's book club brunch.)
(I received an ARC of this novel in preparation for Hachette's book club brunch.)
June 26, 2016
Gave up half way through. Ugh, what a horrible book. Author's style is dislocated and disorganized. Too many names/people introduced and no way to keep straight. Too much dithering off topic into ridiculous self-introspective commentary.
July 15, 2018
I loved the pace of this book. It felt like the author took me by the hand and guided me slowly but steadily into a different place and time, pointing out details all along the way and carefully unfolding a story that felt unforced and very true.
August 25, 2016
I really did not enjoy this book, however I read it all the way through. Kept waiting for something to happen, for stories to tie together, to like the characters more and it just never happened.
April 25, 2017
4.5 stars. A beautifully told story of a Jewish family in 1948, brought together by their faith and their love for each other, almost torn apart by their interfamilial betrayals and hurts. Over-riding all this is the tragic death of a young family member at the end of the summer, referenced at the start of the book and referred to throughout the story. The family gathers each summer at their summer cottage in Woodmont, on the Connecticut shore in a section known as "Bagel Beach." The women and children stay for the summer, while the men come for the weekend. Ada, Vivie and Bec, three sisters who take the time at the cottage to reconnect to each other and to their inner selves, away from the demands of their lives and men.
The book is ostensibly narrated by Ada's 12 year old daughter Molly, though some of the book seems to transition to an omniscient narrator at times, and then back again to Molly. Although most of the book takes place in 1948, some takes place in the present time, with Molly as an adult. At times these segues are a bit jarring, other times they are seamless. You just learn to go with the flow. There are many characters in this story, and each gets his or her turn in the spotlight. Some of their stories make you wonder about their moral character and others are just heartbreaking. I think Nelson's story of lost love touched me the most. Some characters are more relatable than others, some are more likable than others, all are fully human.
There is a lot of emphasis on Jewish tradition, Jewish family life, what binds family together, what tears families apart, how people cope with grief and guilt and the power and limitations of love. All told in beautiful prose.
Why not 5 stars? At times the story does drag a bit, and there are some issues with the narration segues. Sometimes it was hard to keep the characters straight because there are so many. But these a really minor, and eventually it all works out.
Overall, it is a very good book and a definite recommend.
The book is ostensibly narrated by Ada's 12 year old daughter Molly, though some of the book seems to transition to an omniscient narrator at times, and then back again to Molly. Although most of the book takes place in 1948, some takes place in the present time, with Molly as an adult. At times these segues are a bit jarring, other times they are seamless. You just learn to go with the flow. There are many characters in this story, and each gets his or her turn in the spotlight. Some of their stories make you wonder about their moral character and others are just heartbreaking. I think Nelson's story of lost love touched me the most. Some characters are more relatable than others, some are more likable than others, all are fully human.
There is a lot of emphasis on Jewish tradition, Jewish family life, what binds family together, what tears families apart, how people cope with grief and guilt and the power and limitations of love. All told in beautiful prose.
Why not 5 stars? At times the story does drag a bit, and there are some issues with the narration segues. Sometimes it was hard to keep the characters straight because there are so many. But these a really minor, and eventually it all works out.
Overall, it is a very good book and a definite recommend.
December 12, 2017
All of the characters in this family saga are interesting and moving in their own right. That's quite a feat. Characters I can care about are what I like most in a novel.
This book is about a middle-class Jewish family living in Connecticut in 1948, and about the years following the critical development that happens in 1948. It's not a spoiler to say that the youngest child, Davy, dies. Poliner tells that early in the novel and makes it clear that his death changes the family forever.
She shows the hidden spark in each family member, from the department store owner who is inspired by Judaism to his brother-in-law who is inspired by books and his sister-in-law who is inspired by making clothes. The younger generation is portrayed just as well as the older generation.
It is a family full of traditions. Going to the beach house in summer is the most important tradition to the three adult sisters just as religion is to Mort, the husband of Ada, the second sister.
I was fully engaged in the book. But I thought the frequent narrator, Molly the daughter, knows too much about what's happening in other people's minds. And I wasn't sure I believed that the tragedy would ruin every single person's life in major ways. Nonetheless, the book really touched me.
This book is about a middle-class Jewish family living in Connecticut in 1948, and about the years following the critical development that happens in 1948. It's not a spoiler to say that the youngest child, Davy, dies. Poliner tells that early in the novel and makes it clear that his death changes the family forever.
She shows the hidden spark in each family member, from the department store owner who is inspired by Judaism to his brother-in-law who is inspired by books and his sister-in-law who is inspired by making clothes. The younger generation is portrayed just as well as the older generation.
It is a family full of traditions. Going to the beach house in summer is the most important tradition to the three adult sisters just as religion is to Mort, the husband of Ada, the second sister.
I was fully engaged in the book. But I thought the frequent narrator, Molly the daughter, knows too much about what's happening in other people's minds. And I wasn't sure I believed that the tragedy would ruin every single person's life in major ways. Nonetheless, the book really touched me.
July 31, 2018
I trudged through this...it was just a really slow read for me. Large Jewish family, centralized on the lives of 3 sisters and told in the perspective of one of the daughters of the sisters. Tragic family accident and how they all cope.
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