Play Book Tag discussion

"Morningside Heights" is a family drama of a secular Jewish family living in New York City. At the center are Spence and Pru, who meet each other and marry, creating a great marriage. Spence, a Shakespeare scholar, is a professor at Columbia University. He is charismatic and considered a genius. Pru herself is intelligent, but chooses to forgo a career in deference to him. They marry in the 1970's.

Spence has a child, Arlo, from a short-lived, previous marriage. Arlo lives with his mother, but sees Spence and his family sporadically. He develops an ambivalent bond with them, which causes misunderstandings. Arlo is jealous of Spence and Pru's daughter (Sarah), who seems to be the apple of their eye.

Each member of the family is engaging to read about, with the possible exception of Arlo. He does his best to upset and aggravate them. At times his behavior stinks (there's no other way to describe it.) Yet, even he has his charms.

It is not a spoiler to say that Spence gets early onset dementia and his whole life changes with the illness. How each person in the family responds to his decline makes up a large part of the book. Given the subject matter, the book may not appeal to every reader.

Here's why I liked it so much. The writing was original and there were many interesting developments in the story. I liked being surprised by the characters. Also, after having read many books about cultures different than my own, I enjoyed how the author portrayed a reform Jewish family, being Jewish myself.

The novel is warm-hearted, witty and poignant. Highly recommend!

Great review! I put on hold but it will be a while. Sounds really interesting. I love being surprised as well when the surprise makes sense. Looking forward to it!

I have been seeing a lot of reviews about this book, thanks for the recommendation.

Jen K wrote: "Great review! I put on hold but it will be a while. Sounds really interesting. I love being surprised as well when the surprise makes sense. Looking forward to it!"

Jen, I'll be interested in your reactions.

Robin P wrote: "I have been seeing a lot of reviews about this book, thanks for the recommendation."

Robin, I had been seeing the same reviews. I'm so glad that I was able to get the book and read it.

Nice review, I've seen this pop up but never realized what the book was about. I've added it to the TBR!

Joi wrote: "Nice review, I've seen this pop up but never realized what the book was about. I've added it to the TBR!"

Thanks, Joi. I hope you'll like it.