From Publishers Weekly
The mostly middle class, Jewish Philadelphians of Schwarzschild's adept story collection (following the debut novel
Responsible Men) lead clannish, semimarginalized existences. The young boy of No Rest for the Middleman finds himself, on the holiest day of the Jewish year, a pawn in a questionable deal between his father and two shady businessmen. In Reunion, the pregnant Kim exhausts her brother, sister-in-law and dying mother with her irresponsible search for perfect love. The longest and most dramatically satisfying story in the collection, What to Expect, tells of early widower Claude, who must let go of his adult son, Larry, as the latter marries and expects a child of his own. Several other stories feature Charlie and Milly Diamond, an elderly married couple facing the indignities of old age together. All the stories are told in a naturalistic style, except for the last, Irreversible, in which Charlie and Milly regain their youth to the puzzlement of the other residents at the Spring Garden Retirement Community. The bonds of love are alternately tenuous and tensile in Schwarzschild's acutely observed and quietly affecting stories.
(Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Sparkling with wit, compassion, and sometimes whimsy, the vivid characters will not be quickly forgotten. . . . .Schwarzschild has a hit with his second work; the writing is polished well paced, and exceptional. Heartily recommended - it will leave the reader with a chuckle and a smile." ---Library Journal (
Library Journal )
"Known for taking on controversial roles headfirst, it’s at its best in Edward Schwarzschild’s second book, The Family Diamond, a funny/sad collection of nine short stories set in Philly. . . . Deserves a standing ovation."--Daily Candy (Philadelphia edition) (
Daily Candy )
"Nothing is so difficult to write well as a realistic story about ordinary people. Schwarzschild . . . creates nine such stories here. He does it without trickery. He doesn’t need fancy narrative footwork. No smoke. No mirrors. Nothing up the writer’s sleeve. Nothing on his sleeve, either, except for his heart. Schwarzschild’s stories have great heart. And great art¬-art that is all but invisible. In prose so elegant and so transparent that you hardly notice it, these stories simply unfold before your eyes, compelling and utterly real."--Chronogram (
Chronogram )
