Allegra Goodman - The Family Markovitz

[sub_divided]

This novel, on the other hand, doesn't show its seams at all - even though (reading the reviews) it was originally published as a series of short stories.

About a Jewish family, told from various POVs. I guessed that the younger son was gay and had slept with his boss, and he was (and had!). However, he eventually finds more happiness by moving to England, marrying a sensible woman who enjoys his nervousness, and becoming an eccentric landowner.

Throughout the story, Ed (the older brother) is the least sympathetic family member, but he eventually becomes sympathetic by... being the adult? Having the most stable family life? Being the person that the mother can move back to in her old age, and the eccentric childless couple can come to visit? In which case, does he become sympathetic because of his wife?

....And because of his work (writing about the basis for peace in the Middle East), and because he mellows out in his old age.

The book is sort of like The Documents in the Case in that it opens from a perspective (Rose's) that is in some ways the most narrow, and has the least in common with the other perspectives. I like Rose though. She is elderly and addicted to painkillers, which is a combination that occurs way more often in real life than it does in fiction, I think.

Overall, the book is not quite as sympathetic towards its characters as Kaaterskill Falls, which was a book that managed to find the beauty in even the most hidebound Orthodox person. The two really unsympathetic characters in this story are Karen, the postdoc who won't marry a Jewish boy... and Ed's oldest daughter, the medical student who turns ultra-Orthodox. :p

There is a chapter towards the end where Allegra Goodman recounts a Seder - ALL of a Seder, including who came, what they said, how they said it, and what they ate afterward. I thought this was actually pretty interesting, because every Jewish family does the Seder differently, so it was interesting to see how theirs was like mine, and how it was different. I wonder if this section is as interesting to people who aren't Jewish.

One final note in this non-review: Ed's wife Sarah is a writer, and she teaches a creative writing class at the Jewish community center. Since we are in her head, we find out that she only appears to be sympathetic and encouraging towards her students, because she has read that this is an effective teaching tool. Actually she's bored by most of what they write. But I was the editor of my high school literary journal, and I remember the kind of stuff people used to submit. These stories are much better.

...Unfortunately, I've returned the book to the library, so I can't quote from it. But there was a poem about Adam and Eve I quite liked. (The students are told to write "their interpretations of biblical events," so that they will not write exclusively about themselves.) In fact, most of the work her students produce is pretty good! Which made me wonder, is this work that Allegra Goodman considers subpar? Or just Sarah? Or is it that the character supposed to be too wrapped up in her own life to care whether it's good or not?

I mean, yes, the poem uses ideas about feminism that the writer has picked up from elsewhere - but the ideas are done well. What does AG/Sarah want, anyway? For her students to write something that is personally meaningful, but NOT about themselves? From the example of a story that Sarah does like - and from her own shelved story - this is what she wants. I'm a genre fan, though, so I don't believe you should look down on well-executed stories just because they don't fit your literary ideals.

Anyway, this is a very minor point, but it was something that stood out for me.

I took Naomi Novik's new book out from the library! I heard it wasn't as good as the other books - that it is a bridge book - but I am going to read hoping that it will meet my lowered expectations. I also took out another Carol Goodman book (The Night Villa), and another Allegra Goodman book (Paradise Park). Michael Lewis' new book (The Big Short) is on backorder.

If you would like to see any of my other recently read books reviewed here, please let me know.