Karen Kessler is a working mom in
Brooklyn. She runs a non-profit, as does her husband. She deals with hunger, he
with housing. Ruby their daughter is in elementary school and typifies that
cute but spoiled winey voice that starts very young but the guilt ridden
parents can’t quite squash it. They live in a hip neighborhood with an
integrated school that thrilled them. At first. When a few behavior issues
arise with children that may not have the supervision they need at home, Karen
too quickly doubts her choices and second guesses her decision to live this
bohemian life outside of the pricey private schools. With every parent she
meets that switches to the less integrated version, Karen’s underlying jealousy
lifts its ugly head. Deep deep down inside (it’s called the “truth”) Karen thinks
she is not willing to sacrifice Ruby’s academic future or well-being socially
to prove a point she is not even sure she is making anymore. At the same time
this fortyish woman is questioning her relationship with her husband whom she
is having a hard time identifying his good qualities. She is unquestioningly attracted
to an old college friend’s success that she should not meet for another drink
under the pretense he may be a donor to her non-profit. This fast paced,
terrific story has one main underlying theme: Are we living as our true selves
or who we would “like” that true self to be and is there a difference? Highly
recommend this excellent read and look forward to more works by Lucinda
Rosenfeld.
I've had this on my 2017 watch list...glad to hear you liked it! May have to request a galley.
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