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Interviews | January 3, 2012

Jill Owens: IMG Naomi Benaron: The Powells.com Interview



Naomi BenaronRunning the Rift is the most recent winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, as awarded by Barbara Kingsolver. It's also an... Continue »
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    Running the Rift

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A Friend of the Family

by Lauren Grodstein

A Friend of the Family Cover

ISBN13: 9781565129160
ISBN10: 1565129164
All Product Details

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Pete Dizinoff has spent years working toward a life that would be, by all measures, deemed successful. A skilled internist, he's built a thriving practice in suburban New Jersey. He has a devoted wife, a network of close friends, and an impressive house, and most important, he has a son, Alec, on whom he's pinned all his hopes. Pete has afforded Alec every opportunity, bailed him out of close calls with the law, and even ensured his acceptance into a good college.

But Pete never counted on the wild card: Laura, his best friend's daughter-ten years older than Alec, irresistibly beautiful, with a past so shocking that it's never spoken of. When Laura sets her sights on Alec, Pete sees his plans for his son not just unraveling but being destroyed completely. Believing he has only the best of intentions, he sets out to derail this romance and rescue his son. He could never have foreseen how his whole world would shatter in the process.

Lauren Grodstein delivers a riveting story in the tradition of The Ice Storm, American Beauty, and Little Children, charting a father's fall from grace as he struggles to save his family, his reputation, and himself.

Review:

"In her wonderful second novel, Grodstein (Reproduction Is the Flaw of Love) traces a suburban crisis and gives especially perceptive attention to the father-son bond. Pete Dizinoff has it pretty good — an internist with a successful practice, loving wife, nice house in a safe New Jersey suburb and his best friend living close by — but there's some nasty muck beneath the surface. Some years back, Laura, the daughter of Pete's best friend, Joe, was suspected of murdering her baby upon birth. Now in her early 30s, Laura's returned to town after several years of leisurely work and travel and is seducing Pete's college dropout son, Alec, who is also back in town, pursuing the life of a painter in his parents' garage. Laura does not fit into Pete's idea of what's best for his son, but when Pete intervenes, things spin wildly out of control. Add to this a malpractice case, and Pete senses his life is falling apart. An astute dissector of male aspiration, Grodstein brings great insight into a father's protective urge for his son in this gripping portrait of an American family in crisis." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

Grodstein delivers a riveting story in the tradition of The Ice Storm, American Beauty, and Little Children, charting a father's fall from grace as he struggles to save his family, his reputation, and himself.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

Laura Garfinkel, January 2, 2010 (view all comments by Laura Garfinkel)
Fascinating book-- I could not put it down! Had to know what would happen next. The crazy things that happened were totally believable and that kept me reading.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781565129160
Author:
Grodstein, Lauren
Publisher:
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Subject:
General
Subject:
Psychological fiction
Subject:
Fathers and sons
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Publication Date:
20091131
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Pages:
302
Dimensions:
8.43x5.88x1.05 in. 1.04 lbs.

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A Friend of the Family New Hardcover
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Product details 302 pages Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill - English 9781565129160 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "In her wonderful second novel, Grodstein (Reproduction Is the Flaw of Love) traces a suburban crisis and gives especially perceptive attention to the father-son bond. Pete Dizinoff has it pretty good — an internist with a successful practice, loving wife, nice house in a safe New Jersey suburb and his best friend living close by — but there's some nasty muck beneath the surface. Some years back, Laura, the daughter of Pete's best friend, Joe, was suspected of murdering her baby upon birth. Now in her early 30s, Laura's returned to town after several years of leisurely work and travel and is seducing Pete's college dropout son, Alec, who is also back in town, pursuing the life of a painter in his parents' garage. Laura does not fit into Pete's idea of what's best for his son, but when Pete intervenes, things spin wildly out of control. Add to this a malpractice case, and Pete senses his life is falling apart. An astute dissector of male aspiration, Grodstein brings great insight into a father's protective urge for his son in this gripping portrait of an American family in crisis." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by , Grodstein delivers a riveting story in the tradition of The Ice Storm, American Beauty, and Little Children, charting a father's fall from grace as he struggles to save his family, his reputation, and himself.
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