🥯 🥯 1/2
This is Not About Us
Allegra Goodman
310 Pages
Random House/The Dial Press
I was very torn about this book. I really wanted to love it; I had read Ms. Goodman’s books in the past and enjoyed them. However, either my tastes have changed as I have gotten older or her books have changed, or some combination of the two.
This is a work of literary fiction. Often, in this genre, there are not strong plots; the emphasis is on character development. Ms. Goodman’s character development cannot really be faulted here. There is significant character development and it is well done. Her mastery of prose is also strong. I was torn also because I enjoy her use of language which is as strong as ever. It is just not enough for me anymore. I had some trouble seeing the point of the story. This was about a dysfunctional family. I have read many books about dysfunctional families and have enjoyed them. The difference is that there were characters in those dysfunctional families that were likeable and that I cared about. I had a hard time liking any of these characters so that even though they were developed, I really could not relate to them. I think part of the problem was the narration.
This was a true omniscient third person narrator. I actually do tend to like this kind of narration but I don’t know that it works for this. I find that when there are events and an actual plot, an omniscient narrator can help the reader see what is going on and to have more information. Here, there are many characters and an omniscient narrator keeps the reader at arm’s length from them. If this is a character driven novel, I want to care about at least one of the characters but the omniscient third person narrator keeps us from caring. It also does not help mitigate confusion that ensues when there are so many characters.
This novel is for those that enjoy truly character driven novels and do not have trouble keeping characters trait. It is also for those who like to see a slice of Jewish life (that part of it I enjoyed). It is not for those who are waiting for something to happen and who lack patience to differentiate the cast of characters. Unfortunately, it was not for me. Two and half stars, rounded up to three.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Dial Press for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel. All of the opinions expressed herein are my own.
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