I will try my best not to lapse into hyperbole. To say I liked this book, that this book is good, is not sufficient.
This books tricks you. You think it's about a young woman who seduces the son of a middle-aged Jewish doctor living in New Jersey. She's troubled, Dad disapproves, conflict ensues. And on the surface it is but Grodstein gives us so much more than that. She gives us a novel of obsessive parental love, in particular the love of Peter Dizinoff (the aforementioned doctor) for his son Alec. The primary problem is Peter's refusal to see his son as an adult. He orchestrates every major decision in his son's life and the twenty-one year old Alec is, understandably, resistant to this.
It's a slow build from reasonably concerned father to completely control freak. Peter is sympathetic and his evolution (devolution) is believable. The story is tense and subtle, Grodstein's prose is carefully crafted and precise. It was, in almost every way, one of the most satisfying and enjoyable novels I've read in years.
My only issue with Grodstein's novel is the weirdly hands-off presence of Elaine Dizinoff, Alec's mother and Peter's wife. She is, at times, a strong influence in her family but when her husband and son start to rip each other apart she stands back and observes. It doesn't feel natural. Writing Elaine this way may have been convenient for the narrative but it rings false.
Clearly the Elaine Issue was small enough to overlook because the first thing I did after finishing the book... I downloaded her first novel ("Reproduction is the Flaw of Love"). Review soon to come.
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