Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2199 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Sunday Times 100 best holiday reads
'Wisdom and waspish humour abound in this sharp portrayal'

Daily Mail
'This is the wickedly funny and poignant story of a Jewish family in crisis, beautifully observed and painfully authentic.'

Sunday Telegraph
`Charlotte Mendelson's portrait of a Jewish family in crisis is both extremely funny and acutely painful...'

Customer Reviews

Self-obsessed
Selfish and unpleasant family members spend their time obsessing and whining about being Jewish and complaining about how the world owes them a living and isn't delivering. Diverting it ain't.

really turgid read
I took this on holiday after reading all the positive reviews posted on Amazon. I hated it. There was no warmth in the story telling just a bunch of 2 dimensional unlikeable characters trying to avoid upsetting an atrocious mother/rabbi. I have no idea why this book would be worthy of an award nomination. I recently read The Road Home by Rose Tremain and this doesn't hold a candle to it.
I only gave it a star because the Amazon review system doesn't allow you to leave 0 stars ....so bad I left it behind at the villa.

very good book
I'd tried another novel by Charlotte Mendelson and found it a bit overwritten and the first chapter of this made me think it was going to be more of the same. But I persevered and really enjoyed this book. It had great wit and humanity, the dilemmas of the main characters were beautifully realised and I laughed out loud often. I did think the resolution was a bit hasty and unrealistic, hence five stars rather than four but I'd still strongly recommend this.