Many thanks to NetGalley and Alfred A. Knopf Borzoi Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by Nell Freudenberger - 4.5 stars!
Taking place in both Tathiti and NYC during the first year of Covid, we meet Nathalie, a French biologist obsessed with saving coral reefs; her ex-husband, Stephen, a cardiologist in NYC; and their precocious teenaged daughter, Pia. Nathalie sends Pia to NYC to live with Stephen and his new wife, Kate, ostensibly to attend her old (better) school. When Covid hits, Pia and Kate find themselves alone and resentful of each other, especially now that Kate is pregnant. Kate is a NYC public schoolteacher, and we then meet one of her students, Athyna, caring for her nephew almost full time and trying to finish her senior year remotely and apply for college.
One of the biggest challenges of Covid was the forced isolation. This book really takes you back to that time and highlights society's innate need for social interactions, while also showing our shared connections and hope. Conversely, Covid also highlighted our class differences - those who could afford to escape big cities, pay tutors in pods, who had insurance and those who didn't have childcare, safe jobs, or homes. This story is told with those themes strongly running throughout, as well as all the family dramas. I thought the writing in this book was wonderful, although I definitely had to use my Kindle translation feature a lot!
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