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The Believersby Zoe Heller |
Arlene Almas: "The Believers" is a
wonderful book! Zoe Heller is a wizard at nailing every aspect
of life in New York in 2002 through making the story of the
Litvinoff family spring to life. Joel, a widely admired lawyer,
and his caustic wife Audrey have been advocates for progressive
causes all their adult lives and share a wide circle of friends
and fellow activists. Their daughter Karla follows in their
philosophical and political footsteps, but has weight,
marital, and fertility issues. Another daughter, Rosa,
has recently come to feel that something is missing from
her life, and it might be Orthodox Judaism
(which her parents always held in contempt).
The youngest child, Lenny, whom they adopted, is a
non-recovering addict perpetually enabled by Audrey.
The narrative kicks in with Joel's medical emergency
and races off from there, giving each character his or her
time in the limelight. I really, really enjoyed this story.
Rating: *****
