Share <Embed>

Buy Used

$4.85

+ $0.00 shipping

Deliver to France

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Chiron Media

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

17 Used from $2.57

Deliver to France

See All Buying Options

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

The Middlesteins Paperback – 2013

by Jami Attenberg (Author)

431 customer reviews

See all 16 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

"Please retry"

$5.17

—

—

"Please retry"

$9.53

"Please retry"

$10.22

Paperback, 2013

—

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Mass Market Paperback

"Please retry"

—

Audio CD, Audiobook, CD, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$11.55

Editorial Reviews

Middlesteins

Product details

Paperback
Publisher: Serpent's Tail; Main edition (2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 184668935X
ISBN-13: 978-1846689352
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
Average Customer Review: 431 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,410,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

Be the first video

Your name here

Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features:

See Kindle Edition

431 customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars

Review this product

Write a customer review

Showing 1-3 of 431 reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

A Saga Of A Family That Has Dissolved

November 2, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The Middlesteins explores the life of a Jewish family in the suburbs of Chicago. Richard and Edie Middlestein have lived there for more than thirty years. Richard is a pharmacist; Edie a lawyer. They have two children, Benny and Robin. The family looks happy from the outside but things are not good and the couple split up. The cause seems to be Edie's out of control eating. She is massively obese and it is affecting her health. The marriage hasn't been good for years and Richard has finally had enough.

Even though the children are grown they are affected by the breakup. Benny is married himself with two children. He married Rachelle, the kind of woman who lives to control her world and make everything perfect. She is furious at Richard and determined that she can turn Edie's eating problem around by helping her make better eating choices and exercise. She cuts Richard off entirely from their family. Robin is a teacher but not really doing well. She drinks too much and has never had a lasting relationship. She has just met someone new and wonders if it could work out.

Edie is furious. She hasn't loved Richard for years and her constant picking and nagging is as much a factor as her obesity. She isn't sure why she eats so much but at the end of the day is determined to live her life as she wants, even if that means eating everything in sight. Her success as a lawyer seems diametrically opposed to her lack of control in her personal life.

Attenberg has written a saga of a family that has dissolved. Everyone seems surprised when older couples divorce but once the children are grown, why would someone stay if there is no joy in their daily life? She explores the role of personal responsibility, of what parents owe their children and children owe their parents and whether love can be found even as we age. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and those interested in family relationships.

3 people found this helpful

Comment

A flawed, lovable family

July 12, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Among the things I adore about Attenberg's writing is her ability to lull readers into a false sense of security. Her stories are contemporary, her writing style is thoroughly approachable, so it's easy to flip through the first few pages thinking that you're in for some light fiction.

But then, things change. Her prose becomes more poetic, staggeringly beautiful, and painfully sharp. Her turns of phrase spin on a dime.

That gift for language is on full display in The Middlesteins. It's part of what makes the book such a joy to read.

I also love the way she flattens out time. If you've ever read Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, you know what I'm talking about. Attenberg will discuss a person's past, present, and future all in one sentence, sharing information that may not affect the plot, but changes the way that you think about the character.

And last but not least, there are Attenberg's characters themselves, each so beautifully drawn. There are no purely good guys, no purely bad guys. Everyone is flawed and lovable in her own way.

Full disclosure: Jami is a friend and a neighbor. I saw her the other day and was reminded that I hadn't re-read this in years, so I picked it up again. I'm happy to say that it holds up beautifully for a second reading.

2 people found this helpful

Comment

New England Lisa

A little disappointing

June 8, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I was led to this book by a wonderful interview with the author, who said something about how it wasn't really about overeating but rather about yearning. Couldn't resist that!

But the characters in this book are cardboard cutouts. I certainly don't feel like I got to know the main character, Edie. Okay, she drowns her sorrows in food, but she's also a lawyer, mother, lover and friend--why don't I feel like I know her? Really know her. And her husband appears to be a stand in for Everyman who gets a new lease on life through leaving his wife for a new model.

Edie's new love, an elderly Chinese widower, is a welcome plot complication. But again, who is he other than a plot device for the Jewish characters? All surface.

I gave this book 4 stars, however, because I did cry at the end, and read it to the end, and cared about the characters. I wanted to see what happened to them, if they ever found each other. Attenberg's portrayal of people's diverse coping mechanisms (food, work, pot, alcohol) felt spot-on to me. I look forward to reading more of her work. The weight issues felt like an overly-easy device by the end. One more draft and they could have receded a bit.. .

2 people found this helpful

Comment

English United States

Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Interest-Based Ads
© 1996-2018, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates