This Is Not About Us
Fiction
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Feb 10, 2026
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A kaleidoscopic portrait of a modern American family—steadfast, complicated, begrudging, and loving—from the bestselling author of Isola
“A compelling, love-laced portrait of several generations of a family much like yours, mine and just about everyone’s.”—People (Most Anticipated Books of 2026)
Was this just a brief skirmish, or the beginning of a thirty-year feud? In the Rubinstein family, it could go either way.
When their beloved sister passes away, Sylvia and Helen Rubinstein are unmoored. A misunderstanding about apple cake turns into a decade of stubborn silence. Busy with their own lives—divorces, dating, career setbacks, college applications, bat mitzvahs and ballet recitals—their children do not want to get involved. As for their grandchildren? Impossible.
With This Is Not About Us, master storyteller Allegra Goodman—whose prior collection was heralded as “one of the most astute and engaging books about American family life” (The Boston Globe)—returns to the form and subject that endeared her to legions of readers. Sharply observed and laced with humor, This Is Not About Us is a story of growing up and growing old, the weight of parental expectations, and the complex connection between sisters—a big-hearted book about the love that binds a family across generations.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Goodman (Isola) delivers a bighearted linked story collection about a family's travails. In the opener, "Apple Cake," cancer-stricken Jeanne Rubinstein lies on her deathbed, stubbornly refusing to accept her terminal prognosis. As the family sits vigil, the baked goods provided by Jeanne's older sister, Helen, a consummate homemaker, are upstaged by middle sister Sylvia's superior apple cake, which sets off a feud that underscores the dramas playing out in subsequent entries. Sylvia's son, Richard, goes through a divorce in "New Frames" and then embarks on a new romance in "Poppy," while other stories trace the spats and reconciliations between Helen's daughters, Wendy and Pam, as when Wendy frets over not hearing from Pam after knitting and sending her a "pussy hat" following the 2016 election. Also chronicled is the bickering between Jeanne's sons, Dan and Steve, particularly in "Redemption Song," when they each host the family seder on alternating nights. Meanwhile, the youngest generation of Rubinsteins—in their teens and 20s—try to find their way, with free spirit Phoebe embracing her interest in music. Each story succeeds on its own; taken together, they reveal how a family's bonds are shaped and tested by tradition as well as by each individual's recurring patterns. In their messiness and constant striving for harmony, the Rubinsteins are wholly relatable. This is one to treasure.
