Paternity

by Susan Baruch

Joel Berger's charmed life is slipping away. Determined to father a child before he dies, Joel makes one desperate appeal to the women of his macrobiotic dinner group for help. Soon he is surrounded by a colorful cast of female characters, including his iron-willed yet oddly endearing mother, Sylvia. You'll laugh and cry along with the Bergers as the story of their patchwork family begins to unfold, taking some deliciously unexpected turns along the way.

254 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

Susan Baruch is a retired Kodak scientist/engineer with thirteen U.S. patents to her credit. As a writer, her first published piece was a humorous essay entitled, It’s Personal, which was featured in the anthology: A Cup of Comfort for Women in Love published by Adams Media in October 2005. More recently her short story, A Perfect Confluence, was featured in an on-line journal called JewishFiction.net.

Currently Susan works as a volunteer in the art room of the Jewish Home of Rochester and as a tutor at one of Rochester’s city schools. In her spare time she runs a neighborhood book club, belongs to a second book club, sings with the Rochester Women’s Community Chorus and has recently completed a screenplay based on her novel Paternity.

Susan is very excited that Paternity is now available as an audiobook!

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: The author is a friend of mine.

Paternity opens in Rochester in 1980, when Joel Berger is diagnosed with terminal cancer. As the son of Holocaust survivors, he vows to continue the genetic legacy of two people who fought to live against overwhelming odds. To that end, he asks the women of his weekly macrobiotic potluck if they would be interested in carrying his child. Two agree: a black lesbian and a virginal Catholic who marries Joel on his deathbed. His parents are less than thrilled about the latter, and Lucy agrees it's best not to even tell them about their biracial grandchild. The second half of the book follows Lucy, Celeste, and their two children, and is very much a story of post-Holocaust Jewish identity and the changing nature of family and relationships at the close of the twentieth century. As a tale of ordinary people with ordinary lives, it did drag a bit but overall the prose flowed well and it is kept at a good length.

I really wish Ida and Sammy were told about their relationship, though. They know each other yet have no idea they're half-siblings? Sammy doesn't even know who his father is, just that he was conceived via artificial insemination. Withholding that information seemed kind of mean.

[Ike · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Paternity”, took a while to get into, and the patience was rewarded. This is a delightful story of a family tree, and the planned an unplanned creation of new and budding branches. The choices and wishes of the various characters in the story illustrate how the strategies of man cause god to laugh.

I listened to the audio-book and found the reading enjoyable and the various accents well executed. I saw a lot of my own family in Joel’s. That, and the smattering of familiar Yiddish words, made me smile more than once. As a reader of crime and political thrillers, this was a most pleasant change of pace.

[Laura Karns Zoller · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4. An interesting twist on fatherhood and some of the societal challenges people face. Would have liked more closure on Ida's story so i was left wondering how her life would unfold. Admission: i have known the author since elementary school so that was my draw to the book.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the narrator and author as a no-strings-attached Christmas-time gift. I finally listened to it, and here is a review.

THE STORY

The story is in two parts. The first section deals with Joel, a young Jewish man who is dying of cancer in the early 80s and his wish to be a father before he dies. He has relationships with a black lesbian, Lucy, and the young Catholic woman who eventually becomes his wife, Celeste.

The second part is about the lives of the children he had with each woman (through artificial insemination). We find out how these families live, grow, and balance their lives.

In tone, the beginning reminded me very much of other books that could be called "chick lit" that have large ensembles. I enjoy large ensemble pieces as a feature. We can cheer a character on, but before we get too bored, we get to switch back to other characters.

I would say this is generally a feel good story. Yes, people come and go, but it takes place over a wide span of years.

THE NARRATION

I had heard one other book from this narrator and quite enjoyed it. That was one motivation for participating in the Christmas give-away. I am very satisfied with her performance. She handles the accents (lots of Yiddish here), singing and various character voices very well. One character is noted as not having a good singing voice, so when Karen sings as that character it doesn't sound very good. Later in a different section with a quick singing passage (don't worry... not many of those. This isn't an audio musical), the well-voiced character sounds appropriately well voiced.

I would definitely listen to something from this narrator again.

LAST THOUGHTS

While a good book (more a 3.5 but I'm rounding up), I have a few minor disappointments. I had hoped that Sammy would find out that he's actually Ida's half-brother. I waited for that shoe to drop through the second half of the book, but it never did.

Also, the end seemed very rushed. In a few sentences, Sylvia was sick with cancer and then a few sentences later she'd died. I had to give myself a mental shake because I missed it. That's how quickly it went by to get to the "everything wraps up at Joel's 50th" birthday/memorial party. Until that point, I hadn't had any problems with the pacing even with the time jumps.

This is a feel good book about family, the ones we are born into and the ones we make ourselves. It is also about the legacies we leave behind. If those kinds of elements appeal to you, you'll find enjoyment in this story.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paternity is a very good novel. For a first novel by the author, it is amazing. It is primarily a book about relationships. Building characters through short vignettes in which they face the issues of diversity in ethnicity, religion, sexual preference and cultural norms, Baruch gives us insight into the complexity, pain and joy of human relationships. The story line of a man facing death from cancer who seeks to pass on the family line by finding a woman to be the mother of his child by artificial insemination gives structure to the vignettes and keeps the reader looking for connections. My main complaint about Paternity is that it is too short. It left me hoping that Baruch does not wait too long to write her second novel.

[Miriam and Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was actually my second reading of this book, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. It was easy to picture the various places because as a Rochester resident, I actually knew where they were. Joel was a man who knew his life would be ending much too soon and wanted to be sure that his family line was carried on, out of respect to his parents who were survivors of the Holocaust and had lost family members during that time. It was interesting to see how the various characters developed over the course of the next couple of decades, with some unexpected twists and turns along the way, including the everyday struggles and differences that occur in most families.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had read about this book in the D&C as it was written by a local author and was looking forward to reading it. I have to say I was greatly disappointed in the book -- the characters could not really hold my interest and at the end I found myself skimming which is something I rarely do even with books that I am not especially fond of. The only interesting aspect of the book was the familiarity of the local places and things written into the book. Sorry -- wish I could give a local author a better rating.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this as a free audiobook. Which is good because if I was reading it myself I don't think I would have finished it. This story just seemed to go all over the place and I didn't find myself caring for any of the characters in particular. One particular dilemma in the story was really obvious and could be seen a mile away. Ultimately I don't know if this story had much of a point or if it was just minimally interesting accounts of different peoples lives.

[Kathleen Meacham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, good development of the characters and their interactions, serious at times, in addition to humor and irony. I particularly enjoyed this book because I could relate to the setting (Rochester, NY) and I personally know the author. Hats off to you, Sue Baruch.

[Jim Melvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book both charming and emotionally powerful, with rich characters and excellent descriptions. Very nice work.

[Anne McKinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really am glad I read this book . I recommend !

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was thought provoking. I mulled it over in my mind for some time. It's fun reading a story that takes place locally.

[Darlene Holte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It only took me about 4 days to read - I just couldn't put it down. What a great story and an unexpected twist.

[Angela(demonsangel) Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review is posted on Audible

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the questions this raised, and the setting is Rochester! What fun!
Baruch is a local author, and she was very interesting to listen to at the Gates Library last week.