Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!
In 1980, a wealthy businessman named Carl Fletcher is kidnapped from his driveway in the nicest part of Long Island, brutalized, and held for ransom. He is returned to his wife and kids less than a week later, only slightly the worse for wear, and the family begins the hard work of trying to move on with their lives and resume their prized places in the saga of the American dream, coming to understand that though their money may have been what put them in danger, it is also what guaranteed them their safety in the end. But forty years later, when Carl's mother dies and the family comes home to mourn her, it becomes clear that nobody ever really got over anything.
This is a hard one for me to review. I alternately loved it and hated it, but in the end I'm glad I read it and will settle with the fact that I liked it. What I liked was the exploration of generational trauma, inherited wealth, and family secrets. I liked how we got to hear from each of the kids' POV. Beamer was my least favorite and very tough for me to read; Nathan was my favorite, relatable with his anxiety; and Jenny, struggling with acceptance of her family money while also relying on it. Learning more about the Jewish American experience and traditions was also interesting. Definitely read if you love a complicated family saga - and aren't all families complicated in their own ways?
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