Customer Reviews

The Family Markowitz

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Oy vey, "The Family Markowitz" is what every WASP imagines every Jewish family is really like. And perhaps it is what every Jewish family might read and shake their heads at - for the truth captured within. I don't know. I do know that I alternately grinned and groaned with every guilt trip, every piece of cognitive dissonance, every whine, and every solution. Goodman writes a good story, and one that seems entirely plausible and accurate in its dialogues, descriptions, and hang-ups. The reader learns all about Mama Rose, her two sons, Ed and Henry, their wives, and Ed's children who range in type from "born again orthodox Judaism" to "Did I hear you say Avi's girlfriend isn't Jewish?". They deal with their own minds and souls while they combat and juggle the anguish of their family members. No one really listens, and no one really hears, but in the end everyone seems to understand perfectly. A fun read, and for someone who appreciates the Jewish-American world - a hilarious open window on the community as it is portrayed.

Everyone finds someone to root for and someone to scorn in this delicious collage. The author obviously had strong and tender attachment to each of her characters, and you will too. This book should be used in English classes to teach character development.

If you've ever been to a family reunion, you can certainly relate to this book. The author gives each character a chapter of his/her own -- at least one, and one comes away understanding that every family, every life has a little craziness in it. Very warm and even inspiring.

In a series of interwoven stories covering approximately fifteen years in the life of a large family, the author conveys the difficulty and comedy in family relationships. The members of the family include a demanding and childlike aging grandmother, an overly-adult granddaughter, and several members of the middle generation who are still struggling to come to terms with their own identities. Because the chapters differ in central character and focus, the reader is never bored, and there is always a high level of humor shining through the rather cerebral plot. One of the best novels I have read in years. Don't miss it.

When I first started to read this book I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or even finish it. I had already read Ms Goodman's novels, KAATERSKILL FALLS and PARADISE PARK, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I just wasn't sure if this would be more of the same ... the same characters...the same issues. ...But I stuck with it because I enjoy her writing so much and I was pleasantly surprised!

THE FAMILY MARKOWITZ is a compilation of short stories describing different members of this complex family. From Rose, the family matriarch, to her sons, Henry and Ed, her daughters-in-law and her grandchildren, these stories span a period of about 15 years and delve into issues that face many families - religion, intermarriage, drug addiction, sibling rivalry, aging parents, etc. I didn't love all the characters but I don't think you were supposed to - they are "real" people, created so well by an author whose true talent lies in her masterful characteriztion as well as with her literary ability.

I'd like to pick up a copy of her first collection of stories, TOTAL IMMERSION, next!

If you are NEW to the world of dysfunctional families, this may interest you.
If Jewish dysfunctional families are what you LIVE with, move along without it.
It was not enlightening or different. It was just more of the same.

As you might guess, this is a Jewish family saga, but, while I was reading it, I didn't realize that it's apparently intended as a tightly woven collection of stores. Although I think it was supposed to be funny, I was certainly glad that Rose Markowitz was not my mother. She imposes herself on her grown sons, Ed and Henry, and is jealous of her daughter-in-law's mother, who is equally annoying and overbearing. When Ed and Sarah's daughter Miriam's wedding invitation list more than doubles because her grandmothers insist on inviting all their old friends, I became totally exasperated. I guess disciplining of unruly grandparents is a lost cause and not necessarily beneficial to family harmony. Rose has selective amnesia, remembering what she wants to remember, from her childhood, and also more recent items, such as the religious affiliation of Henry's future bride, Susan. There is one really hilarious section of the book, however. Ed, an academic authority on the Middle East and terrorism, attends a conference in an earth-sheltered compound in California that turns out to be something like an AA meeting. When Ed is called on to tell his personal story, his rant against the structure of the conference, or lack thereof, is priceless.

Hmmm...why ddidn't this one work for me? The focus is off and the characterizations lack depth; the story shifts around too much.

But what amazing promise Goodman shows. And what joy for the reader that she worked hard and got better!

This book fell very flat for me. This has nothing to do with the Jewish themes (I love Roth and Singer) but rather with the fact that there is no sense of plot in the first 88 pages at all (that's where I threw in the towel). This is an example of one of those books that tries to be two things at once but successfully accomplishes neither. First, is this a novel or a short story collection? One reviewer calls it a collection; another calls it a novel. The fact that each chapter was published as its own story either in The New Yorker or Commentary shows that this is a patched together collection of short stories trying to pass as a novel. This led to me feeling cheated. Is the writer just trying to get the most "bang" for her buck? I felt no "pull" toward the characters at all and--for the life of me--I could not understand the favorable review snippets on the front pages and back cover. I sense these reviewers were friends of the author. Definitely pass this up.

Having read and enjoyed Kaaterskills Falls by Goodman, I eagerly looked forward to reading this. However, I found the book a let down. This story gave me the sense that Goodman had written parts of this as short stories and tried pasting them all together. There were two characters introduced midway through the book for several chapters who were then never heard from again. The first and second halves of the book don't seem to coherently fit together. I was left feeling like I got introduced to a bunch of different characters, but didn't really get to know any of them very well.