When We Were Bad
the dazzling, Women’s Prize-shortlisted novel from the author of The Exhibitionist
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4.2 • 6 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
When We Were Bad is a spellbinding, witty and poignant portrayal of a family in crisis, in love, and in denial.
'As intelligent as it is funny. A beautifully observed literary comedy as well as a painfully accurate description of one big old family mess. A joy' – The Observer
In North London, Claudia Rubin is in her heyday. Wife, mother, rabbi – and sometimes moral voice of the nation – everyone wants to be with her at her son Leo's glorious wedding. That is, until Leo jilts his bride, and the gleaming bubble surrounding the Rubins threatens to burst.
Frances – Claudia's calm, mature, married daughter – tries to hold the nucleus of the family together, but the stress forces her to re-examine her own life, leading her to make a decision as shocking as Leo's choice to bolt.
And Claudia's husband, Norman, has an uncharacteristic secret. And, whether he likes it or not, he is powerless to stop it coming out . . .
'A comedy with the warmest of hearts and the most deliciously subversive of agendas' - Marie Claire
'Fast-paced and engaging. Brilliant, touching and true' - Naomi Alderman, bestselling author of The Power
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With humor and panache, British writer Mendelson (Love in Idleness) presents London's Rubin clan, presided over by matriarch Claudia, a brilliant, charismatic London rabbi blessed with zaftig curves and a will of steel. Claudia seems to have molded nebbishy husband Norman and their four children into the perfect family. But as the plodding eldest, Leo, leaves the altar to run off with his mistress, the fault lines are exposed: next-eldest Frances eventually admits to her despair about her dutiful marriage and her lack of maternal feeling, and even colorless Norman turns out to have a guilty secret. Claudia, however, must preserve the myth of a perfect family because it's the basis of her about-to-be published memoir, "a moral and ethical handbook for families of the new millennium." What makes Mendelson's novel especially naughty are her candid observations about the "crouching, self-loathing way" that many English Jews try to fit into Anglo society while simultaneously maintaining their traditions: Claudia's seder, for example, is a comic set piece of frantic preparation and grim hospitality. But while the social satire is deft, the action upon which Mendelson hangs it veers into farce. And with the introduction of imminent tragedy, the plot abruptly crashes.
Customer Reviews
A great read!
A wonderful insight into Jewish life. Poignant yet playful - one to savour.