All Adults Here

Starred review from February 3, 2020
In Straub’s witty, topical fourth novel (after Modern Lovers), members of a Hudson Valley family come to terms with adolescence, aging, sexuality, and gender. After 68-year-old widow Astrid Strick witnesses an acquaintance get struck and killed by a bus in the center of Clapham, N.Y., she feels compelled to come clean with her children about her new relationship with Birdie, the local hairdresser, before it's too late (“there were always more school buses,” she reasons). Astrid’s kids have their own issues to contend with. Thirty-seven-year-old Porter, pregnant via a “stud farm” (aka a sperm bank), is having an affair with her old high school boyfriend, while Elliott, the oldest, is preoccupied with a hush-hush business proposal. Nicky, the youngest, and his wife have shipped their only child, 13-year-old Cecilia, up to live with Astrid after a messy incident at her Brooklyn school involving online pedophilia. Despite Cecilia’s fear of not fitting in, she finds friendship with a boy who longs to be recognized as a girl but isn’t ready to come out as trans. As per usual, Straub’s writing is heartfelt and earnest, without tipping over the edge. There are a lot of issues at play here (abortion, bullying, IVF, gender identity, sexual predators) that Straub easily juggles, and her strong and flawed characters carry the day. This affecting family saga packs plenty of punch.

Emily Rankin's expressive narration and graceful tone guide listeners through this sympathetic story of the extended Strick family, whose members reside in a fictitious upper-middle-class town in the Hudson Valley. Anyone who has ever been part of an extended family--either as a parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, or grandparent--will find much that is familiar here. Rankin superbly distinguishes three generations, giving each character a unique and compelling persona. She expresses their rich emotional texture and exposes their vulnerabilities and longings. Listeners may even shed a tear or two as Rankin evokes the powerful scenes in which family members come to better understand and support one another. A relatable story and an absorbing listen. M.J. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine