They May Not Mean To, But They Do
A Novel
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4.2 • 58 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From one of America’s greatest comic novelists, a hilarious new novel about aging, family, loneliness, and love
The Bergman clan has always stuck together, growing as it incorporated in-laws, ex-in-laws, and same-sex spouses. But families don’t just grow, they grow old, and the clan’s matriarch, Joy, is not slipping into old age with the quiet grace her children, Molly and Daniel, would have wished. When Joy’s beloved husband dies, Molly and Daniel have no shortage of solutions for their mother’s loneliness and despair, but there is one challenge they did not count on: the reappearance of an ardent suitor from Joy’s college days. And they didn’t count on Joy herself, a mother suddenly as willful and rebellious as their own kids.
The New York Times–bestselling author Cathleen Schine has been called “full of invention, wit, and wisdom that can bear comparison to [ Jane] Austen’s own” (The New York Review of Books), and she is at her best in this intensely human, profound, and honest novel about the intrusion of old age into the relationships of one loving but complicated family. They May Not Mean To, But They Do is a radiantly compassionate look at three generations, all coming of age together.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Schine (The Three Weissmanns of Westport) examines what happens when your other half dies with adroit observations about family, loss, and aging. New Yorker Joy Bergman discovers what it is like to be alone and old after her husband loses his long fight with Alzheimer's disease. Without Aaron to care for, and with a new boss trying to retire her from her museum job, she suddenly feels each of her 86 years. Her children, Daniel and Molly, are filled with suggestions, but all involve taking away some measure of her independence. Things become further complicated when Joy brings a date to Passover. Meanwhile, Molly's son continues to drift and her domestic partner's dad keeps getting kicked out of nursing homes, and Daniel feels that he alone is worried about his mother's financial stability. Joy's doggedness when it comes to taking care of herself is recognizable and understandable, showcasing Schine's intuitive empathy, and any adult with an aged parent will recognize her children's well-meaning concern. Unfortunately, the ending peters out without a real conclusion.
Customer Reviews
They May Not Mean to, But They Do
Reading this made me a better mother, daughter, wife, friend. It is a window into our realities.