Mutual Life & Casualty [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Poliner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2005

Mutual Life and Casualty is a 70s and 80s era coming of age story of two sisters, Hannah and Carolyn Kahn, who have a lot to contend with. More than anything, they face the dark cloud of their parents’ fragile marriage: a workaholic insurance salesman father and shopaholic mother who would like to leave her loveless marriage but is too scared to do so. Add to that the ongoing social pressures of the time: women’s changing roles, Vietnam’s lingering pall, and families breaking apart generally. Being the only jewish family in town further complicates the sisters’ lives. These interwoven stories integrate the lives of Hannah and Carolyn with those of several other town members.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Home is a battleground where lives are lived on autopilot in Poliner's auspicious debut collection of interwoven stories set primarily in 1970s suburban Connecticut. Sisters Hannah and Carolyn Kahn quietly inhabit a fragile home and suffer their parents' loveless marriage, an unhappy union that poisons their adolescence and haunts them as adults. Their beautiful mother, Naomi, is happiest when she is "absorbed" in volunteer work or an affair, seeking any distraction from her critical, demanding husband, Daniel, an overworked insurance executive who doles out affection via his checkbook. Hannah and Carolyn cling to their mother, reveling in their role as recipients of her confessions—she is desperate for divorce, but too frightened to leave: "If I left... divorced—what would I do?" As adults, the sisters find themselves paralyzed by their family history. Instead of pursuing a promising musical career, Hannah becomes a piano teacher trapped in a safe marriage, afraid to bear children. Carolyn, a successful consultant, escapes to Miami to divorce herself from her family and the "townyness" of Connecticut, but ultimately returns, realizing that she is a "bud waiting to bloom." Fully realized, sympathetic characters, frank exploration of women's self-assigned roles and tight writing make this a forthright, satisfying first effort. (Feb.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 223 pages
• Publisher: Permanent Pr Pub Co; 1St Edition edition (February 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579621120
• ISBN-13: 978-1579621124
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,387,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun and engaging read. Can't wait for more from this author!, September 18, 2005

By 

Elaine Tumicki (Farmington, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mutual Life & Casualty (Hardcover)

Wow! What a great first novel! I can't remember the last time I read a novel and was so disappointed when it ended -- I wanted to keep reading. The characters are well developed and Ms. Poliner's writing style is just a delight to read. An added bonus is that I live in central Connecticut so I recognized many of the landmarks (I too have been in the now defunct Loehmann's communal dressing rooms!). I've already bought several copies for holiday gifts. I'm looking forward to Ms. Poliner's next novel!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could Not Stop Reading, May 4, 2005

By 

James Boltler (Richland, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mutual Life & Casualty (Hardcover)

From the time I bought it till I finished I read at every available moment. I was sad that there was no more to read when I finished.
I hope there will be more books coming by this author. The scenes and action are vividly described with every nuance and emotion captured in words. I feel I know Hannah and Carolyn and all the other characters.