Customer Reviews

Three Daughters

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Three Daughters", the first novel of accomplished feminist and non-fiction writer Letty Pogrebin, tells the story of three sisters and their families, friends, and pasts. Each of the sisters lives a life that is both exactly what she wants and a failure: each is estranged from her family, or from reality, or from her truest self. Through the course of the novel, they begin to recognize their weaknesses and, with each others' help, forge the beginnings of a better life.

It sounds like an Oprah Book Club book, and it reads like one at times. Pogrebin is obviously a novice; she tries too hard to make clever use of language and often overuses it. But she writes interesting, believable characters who live in a plausible world. The story is complex enough to be absorbing for nearly 400 pages (in a time of 200-page books, it's nice to have something to sink one's teeth into) without being confusing. And, while this book will not win any awards for depth or thematic subtlety, it's an interesting and inspiring read.

That this book is most interesting to Jewish women hardly needs saying; the sisters are Jewish and they make no secret of it. I found the book to be self-conscious about its religious emphasis at times, but Pogrebin's thorough knowledge of unusual aspects of Jewish faith and culture won me over.

I rarely finish a novel and then re-open to the beginning as I did with Three Daughters. Though I've read Pogrebin's non-fiction, and found them extremely memorable, this first novel of hers is entirely different.

I couldn't believe the brilliance that ran through the entire book. Nor do I understand how anyone can say that these characters were stilted, or were told but not shown. Absolutely untrue, at least for me, each one leapt to life, as did many of the issues Leah, Shoshanna and Rachel brought with them. Each woman, or daughter was absolutely three dimensional, vivid and unique. I dearly hope one doesn't have to be Jewish and/or a New Yorker to get the depth of the mind that created this work of art.

I found all the discussions of Judaic law, of Israel, of discord in a family so nuanced and was mesmerized by the tone of the entire book, which reminded me of Saul Bellow's mind, minus his self-indulgence. This book shines with a brilliance that is, as someone said below, breathtaking. How Pogrebin can make a middle aged woman racing across a busy street to save her rolodex exciting, I can't say, because I can't do it. But this first novel was dramatic, flowing and exciting from cover to cover. "Three Daughters" was for me a rare find. Alas, I am Jewish and a sometime New Yorker, so maybe it's an acquired taste. I surely hope not. Great writing speaks universal truths, and I was simply blown away by this novel, as few others do effect me. I highly recommend all readers to give this book a careful read-through. It's more than 5 stars, and as a first novel, if not a first book, kudos to the author for a wonderful, earth-shattering read. Thank you, Ms. Pogrebin!

Perhaps it goes without saying that every loving parent does the best they can to make their child's life healthy, secure and happy. Yet, the actions, decisions and words of parents often have very different effects than intended. Children grow up in response to their parents and to the experiences of their childhood. This is at once obvious and subtle. Psychology texts (and therapists' offices) are full of analysis of childhood, its environment and experiences; it's joys and trauma. And artists, poets and writers of fiction also examine and explore childhood to understand adult patterns of behavior and thought. Letty Cottin Pogrebin, renowned activist, feminist and author of non-fiction, has produced in THREE DAUGHTERS, her first work of fiction, an outstanding novel that delves into the childhood of the Wasserman sisters and finds them, in adulthood, wrestling with the issues that have defined them since their earliest years.

Leah, Rachel and Shoshanna are three sisters who are very different from each other. However, all three are products of their childhood and are rebelling against it. Leah is Sam Wasserman's daughter from his first marriage. That marriage dissolved as he lost his wife to alcoholism and mental illness and almost lost Leah as well. Leah meets Rachel at boarding school where she was sent so that her mother, Esther, could pick up the pieces from the abusive marriage she left. Rachel and Leah bond and arrange for Sam and Esther to meet. Not only do they meet but they soon fall in love and marry. Leah and Rachel are sure they now have the happy family they have always wanted. But not all of the family's problems are healed with this merge. In order to present a respectable image to his new congregation, Rabbi Wasserman and Esther tell everyone that Rachel is their daughter and Leah is a niece. By the time Shoshanna is born, this lie, coupled with traumatic early childhood experiences, have damaged the family in ways not easily remedied. Many years later, as Sam Wasserman plans to return to the U.S. to accept an award, his daughters get ready for the floodgate of emotions his arrival will open. And, as their lives are transforming with middle age, they find that they need each other more than ever.

Pogrebin has crafted a beautiful, often heartbreaking, novel. Unique in its depth of emotion and honesty, it is a novel unafraid to allow its characters to be flawed and occasionally quite weak. Despite their weaknesses, or perhaps because of them, the Wasserman family is more than likeable; they are understandable and sympathetic. Pogrebin's respect for her characters, coupled with the intensity of the story, makes for an enjoyable read. The journey of the Wasserman family reveals much about families in general; how the smallest words and actions can have the greatest impact and how what may be understood as "the right thing to do" can have devastating consequences. However, despite the damage done or perceived by each Wasserman daughter, they are survivors who, like their parents, do the best they can at each milestone. Admittedly the last quarter of the novel drags towards the just less than predictable conclusion. Still, THREE DAUGHTERS is powerful, complex and immensely readable. Addressing issues of body image, sexuality, motherhood, marriage, religion, career, self-esteem, personal politics, gender equality and many others, Pogrebin is aware of the complexity of women's public and private lives.

True to her feminist ideals, Pogrebin has presented the lives of middle-aged women with honesty and compassion, showing the joys and the sorrows. We see Leah, Rachel and Shoshanna in transition and their strength is awesome. What a joy to read a work of fiction from a woman who has inspired and spoken to so many through her non-fiction.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

This story is unusual in that the characters are more interesting than the plot. It was the three sisters, their lives, habits, and nuances that kept me reading. Leah's hardcore feminism and eclectic lifestyle was the most interesting of all. Even Rachel, the most boring of the sisters, had another, deeper side to her personality.

However, this story does have it's major flaws. First of all, I read eagerly to find out the cause of the antagonism between Leah and her father, and when I FINALLY did, I thought, "So what!" I was expecting something worth all the build up, and it definitely was a big let down. Rachel got rather annoying with all her "factoids" and there were a lot of loose ends about Leah's family at the end. I think this author is very talented at creating characters, but needs to work a little on her plotting skills.

This book is written with such compelling prose it was hard to put down. However, there were some long lapses into feminist dogma that a few times slipped over the characters' thoughts and felt preachy. That said, I found it a believable, palpable story, strongly character-driven, well done. In ways I'm not sure the author intended, it was informative, giving insight into motivations of the radical women's movement's roots. Not that I blame or wish to turn back the clock, but I feel I've met these women in real life, especially Leah, and wondered whence came her firey conviction. I applaud the author in not painting any of the women as perfect, yet sympathetic and understandable at every turn. There is much talk supporting liberal politics, cheering the far Left, denigrating conservative standpoints without exploring them that at times I tired of hearing. The rallies held to promulgate the beginning women's lib views were described exactly as I remember them, fraught with turmoil and pot smoke, real issues screaming to be heard over the din of radical demonstrations that became connected, then associated with them. Those ideologies stand as framework for the characters' personalities. Interesting. Vivid prose. Precise description. Worth the "eye time".

I had a very hard time enjoying this book. I felt like there was little to no character development, a meandering plot, and a completely unsatisfying ending. I haven't struggled so hard to get through a book in a long time, and the only reason I didn't just give up on it was because it was the selection for my book club. It was 240 pages before anything interesting happened, and then even that plot line was poorly followed through. I am sorry, but there was almost nothing in this book that spoke to me. I am glad I got a used copy and spent only seven dollars, but even that felt like too much.

I laugh inside all the time, but when something makes me laugh out loud, that's usually a long overdue delight. When I heard Letty's interview on Diane Rheme and her excerpts made me laugh out loud, I had to read this book. Not only did I laugh out loud, but I could picture every part of this book, including what Leah's house smelled liked. Letty's writing captivates, I didn't want it to end.

Taking a break from my usual murder/courtroom reads, I picked up this treasure at the library. What a find! I was immediately absorbed into the lives of the sisters and found their personal growths totally inspiring. I couldn't put it down yet didn't want it to end. I can't wait for Pogrebin's next novel. Bravo!

Letty Cottin Pogrebin, the cofounder of Ms. magazine and the author of eight works of nonfiction, has written her first novel. "Three Daughters" is about half-sisters who lead complicated and multi-faceted lives. Leah is an English professor and an ardent feminist who tends to be pedantic, opinionated and overbearing. Rachel, the mother of five, is a domestic diva with a deep interest in Jewish theology. Shoshanna is a nervous type. Like Chicken Little, she is forever afraid that the sky is about to fall.

Leah, Rachel, and Shoshanna have a stormy history, and Pogrebin demonstrates that sisterhood can be a strong bond as well as a source of resentment, envy, and conflict. Pogrebin gives these three women well-defined personalities and we see how they change over time. Illuminating flashbacks shed light on how their childhoods marked them for life.

Where Pogrebin falters is in her writing style and plot development. She indulges in melodramatic and overwrought language when understatement and subtlety would have been more effective. At a little under four hundred pages, the book goes on and on; less would have been more. The author's feminist agenda takes center stage here and she pushes it so hard that it throws the narrative out of balance. A novel should develop naturally rather than serve as a forum to deliver political statements. Finally, the book is loaded with more angst than is needed in one novel. Some of the themes in "Three Daughters" are long-buried family secrets and grudges, marriages on the rocks, child abuse, mental illness, mid-life crises, and Jewish rituals.

Who will enjoy this book? Those who like to read about dysfunctional individuals who make an effort to bond after years of estrangement may find "Three Daughters" poignant and meaningful. However, since I found this novel to be more tedious than entertaining, I do not recommend it.

To celebrate his ninetieth birthday, Rabbi Sam Wasserman returns to New York City from Israel. Sam demands that his three daughters attend his gala event even though he has had some differences with them over the years.

His oldest daughter Leah from Sam's first marriage, though sixtyish, still retains feelings that he abandoned her five decades ago when he remarried. Though successful as a left wing English professor with a community commitment, she still desperately wants to reconcile with her father, but can she forgive him?

His second daughter Rachel is actually not of his seed having come from the first husband of his second wife, but is the one who embraces the religion with a fervor that matches Sam. Her world is changing from pampered trophy wife to divorced seminary student if she has the courage to go for what she desires.

The youngest sibling Shoshanna believes she can accomplish almost anything, but fears failure of achieving what she most wants in life. She desires a reconciliation of her entire family.

THREE DAUGHTERS is an engaging character study that digs deep into the contemporary Jewish philosophies that compete amidst the religion today. Each daughter represents a corner of the triangle of Judaism (community, Torah, and family). The strong story line is at its best when the squabbles between the three women provide the reader with a deep look into the religion, but loses momentum when the plot becomes a rallying cry for modern Judaism.

Harriet Klausner