Among the Ginzburgs
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- 59,00 kr
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- 59,00 kr
Utgivarens beskrivning
Brought together by the sudden return of the erudite father who abandoned them nearly thirty years ago, the five Ginzburg children reunite in mid-life. Gifted and ambitious, competitive and funny, the siblings grudgingly put their complicated lives on hold to spend a weekend at the Catskills farmhouse that was once their summer home. Swept instantly into the treacherous, bittersweet tangle of old family alliances and resentments, they skirmish, match wits and rehash the past, meanwhile trying for all they’re worth to ignore the ominous drumbeat of the passing hours—for their long-lost father, suffering from leukemia, is in the last moments of his life. With sharp wit and passionate empathy, Ellen Pall explores the innermost secrets of an engaging family as its strength is put to the test.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
There are no villains or heroes in this perceptive, poignant examination of family; whatever a character's surface traits-foppery and vanity, or nobility and self-sacrifice-Pall (Back East, 1983) digs deep to expose the sweetness and vulnerability that are at each one's core. On a rainy autumn weekend at their family's farmhouse in the Catskills, the five adult Ginzburg children and three of their mates gather for the first time in many years. The reason: their father, Meyer, who abandoned them and their mother 28 years ago, has returned home to die. At first shunning Meyer, who lies upstairs reflecting on his fragmented life with increasing detachment, the various Ginzburgs engage in the reminiscing, raillery, crying and feuding that are particular to siblings. Take away the wise and analytical commentary and this is a classic drawing-room drama set in a country house; the theatricality is further enhanced by the presence of famous actor Anatole, the husband of the second youngest Ginzburg. But Pall never descends to cheap theatrics and instead puts a clever and always gentle twist on scenes that in less able hands would be cliched and melodramatic. Dialogue, characterizations, setting-all ring true in this mature, gracefully realized work.
