A debut novel with a gay theme from a new American writer. It explores middle class Jewish family life and the conflict between selfhood and family bond in relationships.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
An ambitious first novel that reads more like a collection of stories, Years from Now looks at Jewish family life through a series of weddings, seders, funerals and other family gatherings in which the individual is often placed at odds with the rituals and traditions he or she is obliged to uphold. That tension figures prominently in the relationship most closely outlined in the book, that of Beth and David, two former classmates who, despite their homosexuality, maintain a sporadically physical relationship and eventually have a child together. Theirs is an unlikely union that remains in obscurity throughout the narrative, buried under flat characterizations and banal dialogue. Glickman aptly conveys the brittle atmosphere of family gatherings and the tense interplay between agendas manifest and hidden that marks such occasions; but the novel never transcends its implausible premise and is further burdened by an occasional, awkward lyrical tone that obfuscates more than it enlightens. Despite these flaws, the brief final chapterwhose tone, perspective, time frame and clarity of focus separate it from all that has precededmakes a fine, surprisingly moving story, suggesting that other forms of fiction may better suit Glickman's talents.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Centered on Zellie, a Jewish woman of the American diaspora, this novel stretches from the struggles of her mother's family of 11 sisters at the turn of the century to the present day and the birth of a child to her gay doctor son David and his long-time lesbian friend Beth. The small failures of Zellie's conventional lifetwo mediocre marriages, feuds, divorce and drug death in the familycounterpoint the small triumphs in David's and Beth's lives. But the center of Glickman's family portrait is the history of Jewish success and assimilation. Many scenes take place at increasingly disastrous weddings and seders, where we can follow the drift towards more remote and WASP-ier suburbs and the slow falling away of ritual. In contrast, the gay characters' insistence on affirming their Jewish identity and struggle to create a family are especially poignant. A rich and comprehensive novel. Rob Schmieder, Boston
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent and moving,
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This review is from: Years from Now (Hardcover)
I read this so many years from now tht I've forgotten exactly what happens, but I do know that I've been looking (in vain) for other novels by Glickman ever since. I always think of it as a moving, intelligently written, sensitive novel.
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