The Middlesteins

Starred review from July 2, 2012
A panoply of neurotic characters fills Attenberg’s multigenerational novel about a Midwestern Jewish family. Shifting points of view tell the story of the breakup and aftermath of Edie and Richard Middlestein’s nearly 40-year marriage as Edie slowly eats herself to death. Richard and his brilliant but demanding and ever larger wife raised two children. Robin is intense and hostile; Benny lives an idyll with his wife, Rachelle, in the Chicago suburbs, sharing a joint after putting their twins to bed at night. Much of Rachelle’s time is spent assuring that the twins’ b’nai mitzvah extravaganza goes off without a hitch. When complications surrounding Edie’s diabetes precipitate Richard’s filing for divorce, the already tightly wound Rachelle becomes obsessed with the family’s physical and moral health. Soon the affable Benny’s hair is falling out in clumps. Attenberg (Instant Love) makes her characters’ thoughts—Richard and Benny in particular—seem utterly real, and her wry, observational humor often hits sideways rather than head-on. Edie’s overeating, described with great sensuality, will resonate, with only the obstreperousness of all three generations of Middlestein women (granddaughter Emily included) marring this wonderfully messy and layered family portrait. Agent: Douglas Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic.

May 15, 2013
Edie Middlestein has just been diagnosed with diabetes and may need bypass surgery. Her love affair with food seems to have trumped her love of anything else, and she will do nothing to improve her condition. Her husband, Richard, unable to change his headstrong wife, leaves her and files for divorce. Richard and Edie's adult children, Robin and Benny, are horrified with both parents and work hard to find a new normal for the family. Attenberg ("The Melting Season") captures a realistic time of crisis and adjustment through the eyes of each of her characters. VERDICT While flashback and the nonlinear story are common literary devices, these elements seem somewhat superfluous in this story. Narration by Molly Ringwald lacks the fire that might be expected in this emotional tale. Still, readers of general fiction will enjoy this book. Recommended. ["Attenberg seamlessly weaves comedy and tragedy in this warm and engaging family saga of love and loss," read the review of the "New York Times" best-selling Grand Central hc, "LJ" 7/12.--Ed.]--Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Libs., Providence

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