Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Celadon Books (2023), Edition: Reprint, 448 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. HTML: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz's The Latecomer is a layered and immersive literary novel about three siblings, desperate to escape one another, and the upending of their family by the late arrival of a fourth. The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents Salo and Johanna, under tragic circumstances, to their triplets born during the early days of IVF. As children, the three siblings �?? Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally �?? feel no strong familial bond and cannot wait to go their separate ways, even as their father becomes more distanced and their mother more desperate. When the triplets leave for college, Johanna, faced with being truly alone, makes the decision to have a fourth child. What role will the "latecomer" play in this fractured family? A complex novel that builds slowly and deliberately, The Latecomer touches on the topics of grief and guilt, generational trauma, privilege and race, traditions and religion, and family dynamics. It is a profound and witty family story from an accomplished author, known for the depth of her character studies, expertly woven storylines, and plot twists… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Dianekeenoy
So, this is a very long book and many times I asked myself if I should just stop reading it. Not normally a question I ever ask myself!!! If I don't like a book, I just stop reading it and also I hardly ever dislike a book that I choose to read! But, it kept pulling me back in and on page 313, I
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finally understood the long intro (for lack of a better word) and could hardly stand to read what was happening! I put the book down several times, told my husband that I just didn't want to be a part of this train derailment but finally got a glass of wine and dove in! Holy moly, geez Louise, what the heck???? Anyway, I absolutely loved this book, there's more surprises along the way and just a wonderful ending!!! So, at the risk of upsetting some people who might run out of patience, (hey, I almost did ) I do highly recommend this book!!! Show Less
LibraryThing member ccayne
I agree with other reviewers - I questioned why was it this long, should I keep going, why couldn't a look away from this trainwreck of a "family". I'm glad I stayed. Did I like the characters, not really. Did they grow on me, yes. Could I empathise with them, yes. Well written, good character
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development and well plotted. Show Less
LibraryThing member GrandmaCootie
Underneath all the art and education and political stands and causes and society and social mores, The Latecomer is just about a family. A very, very, very dysfunctional family. A family with no apparent, reciprocated love whatsoever among them. No consideration, no concern of how their actions
The Latecomer, Phoebe, is the fourth baby from the test tube. The triplets – Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally - don’t even take notice of her. She’s just some stupid, pathetic idea their mother had. They don’t want the siblings they have. Why would they want another one?
The family is enmeshed in deceit. By chance, Salo meets the other survivor of the accident and embarks on a long-term affair and fathers a child, eventually deciding to leave the marriage on the same night Sally has decided to untangle the web of lies between her, Lewyn and her roommate/his girlfriend Rochelle. It’s all ugly. And sad. Very, very sad. Tragedy occurs. These tragic events would break most families, but this family is already broken. Always has been.
Jean Hanff Korelitz’s books are not light, easy reading but the reward is excellent writing and a story full of literary and real-life references, clever wordplay, and complex, deep, well-developed, intriguing characters that make you cringe at their behavior and their seemingly inexhaustible capacity to hurt, to demean, to denigrate, to ignore.
The first two-thirds of the book give us a lot of background and information about the parents and the triplets and what happened to them, or more importantly what did not happen, how their lives didn’t evolve as they might have wished. But, unfortunately, while you might work up a little sympathy for one or another character now and then, overall they are unlikable and create as much of their own hardship as what fate heaps on them. The emotion I mostly felt to this point was frustration, frustration with their behavior and frustration with the overwhelming amount of information to absorb. I began to wonder if all that art, history, politics, and social information was crucial to the story or just interesting surrounding or background material.
However, “Part Three – The Latecomer” picks up the pace and makes this book too absorbing to put down and well worth sticking with the bit of detail overload. Secrets are discovered, interactions and relationships explored and there is more than one big, satisfying reveal. Everything is neatly and skillfully explained and tied together and the ending was perfect. Unexpected but perfect. Korelitz is a very talented author whose work I always enjoy. Thanks to Celadon Books for allowing me to be a Celadon Reader and providing an advance copy of The Latecomer via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, recommend it without hesitation and look forward to the next read by this author. All opinions are my own.
#TheLatecomerBook #CeladonReads
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might affect any of the others, no remorse when they see the terrible hurt and humiliation they have caused. Johanna loved her husband Salo and dreamed of rescuing him emotionally from the tragedy of the automobile accident he caused and which she believed had ruined his life. In fact, ruined or not by the results of the auto accident, Johanna was little more than an afterthought to Salo. He didn’t treat her badly; he didn’t seem to care enough to treat her any way at all. He had his art and he drifted further and further away. A provider for the family but not part of it. Johanna’s other dream was to have that family, and her dream was full of vignettes of happy times together, sibling loving sibling, good natured rivalries, vacations and happy events to photograph and paste in the memory book. But the test tube triplets seem to have been born with a grudge, an inherent dislike of their siblings, and an aversion to spending any time with each other, or with their parents. Salo didn’t even seem to notice. Johanna tried time after time and method after method to bring them together, to realize her dream of that close, warm, loving family, but it was not to be.The Latecomer, Phoebe, is the fourth baby from the test tube. The triplets – Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally - don’t even take notice of her. She’s just some stupid, pathetic idea their mother had. They don’t want the siblings they have. Why would they want another one?
The family is enmeshed in deceit. By chance, Salo meets the other survivor of the accident and embarks on a long-term affair and fathers a child, eventually deciding to leave the marriage on the same night Sally has decided to untangle the web of lies between her, Lewyn and her roommate/his girlfriend Rochelle. It’s all ugly. And sad. Very, very sad. Tragedy occurs. These tragic events would break most families, but this family is already broken. Always has been.
Jean Hanff Korelitz’s books are not light, easy reading but the reward is excellent writing and a story full of literary and real-life references, clever wordplay, and complex, deep, well-developed, intriguing characters that make you cringe at their behavior and their seemingly inexhaustible capacity to hurt, to demean, to denigrate, to ignore.
The first two-thirds of the book give us a lot of background and information about the parents and the triplets and what happened to them, or more importantly what did not happen, how their lives didn’t evolve as they might have wished. But, unfortunately, while you might work up a little sympathy for one or another character now and then, overall they are unlikable and create as much of their own hardship as what fate heaps on them. The emotion I mostly felt to this point was frustration, frustration with their behavior and frustration with the overwhelming amount of information to absorb. I began to wonder if all that art, history, politics, and social information was crucial to the story or just interesting surrounding or background material.
However, “Part Three – The Latecomer” picks up the pace and makes this book too absorbing to put down and well worth sticking with the bit of detail overload. Secrets are discovered, interactions and relationships explored and there is more than one big, satisfying reveal. Everything is neatly and skillfully explained and tied together and the ending was perfect. Unexpected but perfect. Korelitz is a very talented author whose work I always enjoy. Thanks to Celadon Books for allowing me to be a Celadon Reader and providing an advance copy of The Latecomer via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, recommend it without hesitation and look forward to the next read by this author. All opinions are my own.
#TheLatecomerBook #CeladonReads
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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
Is it possible to be married with children and still not be a family? Johanna marries Salo after he's survived an accident in which two other people died, making him a kind of tragic figure in her eyes. And while she throws herself into caring for him, making a home and then in longing for
This is the story of a family, from the middle of the last century until just a few years ago. It's well-written, very well paced and a wonderful look at New York City at a specific time for a specific social caste. There's an old school feel to the character studies, even as they exist in very modern circumstances. Each character is fully explored, and the author takes time to let them spread their wings. And into this solid novel, that was so satisfying to read, there's a ton of art and while I'm generally happy with my life as it is, I'd love to be a wealthy dude in the early 1960s, just grabbing all the interesting paintings no one cared about and stashing it in the warehouse down in Red Hook, Brooklyn, that everyone is convinced will never be worth anything.
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children, Salo mainly cares about the paintings he's finding. And when, with a great deal of medical help, they end up with three infants, it doesn't draw Salo into Johanna's dream of a family, and the children themselves don't like each other, leaving home as quickly as possible and although two of the siblings end up at the same university, they simply don't acknowledge each other, with disastrous results. When Johanna is left with an empty nest and discovers something unsettling about Salo, she reacts by adding a fourth child to the mix. Raised essentially as an only child, will she be able to create a family out of these individuals who don't even like each other?This is the story of a family, from the middle of the last century until just a few years ago. It's well-written, very well paced and a wonderful look at New York City at a specific time for a specific social caste. There's an old school feel to the character studies, even as they exist in very modern circumstances. Each character is fully explored, and the author takes time to let them spread their wings. And into this solid novel, that was so satisfying to read, there's a ton of art and while I'm generally happy with my life as it is, I'd love to be a wealthy dude in the early 1960s, just grabbing all the interesting paintings no one cared about and stashing it in the warehouse down in Red Hook, Brooklyn, that everyone is convinced will never be worth anything.
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LibraryThing member Mrsmommybooknerd
#FirstLine ~ Mom had a way of of obfuscating when anyone asked how she and our father first met.
Beautiful and thoughtful this book was one I will not soon forget. It was complicated and messy and brilliant. It was one of those books that slowly seeps in and then you realized you have been changed
Beautiful and thoughtful this book was one I will not soon forget. It was complicated and messy and brilliant. It was one of those books that slowly seeps in and then you realized you have been changed
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by it without knowing it. It was deep and special. It was so good, that it is hard to really put it into words. It was unlike many other books and that is why I loved it! Show Less
LibraryThing member Narshkite
UNCLE! made it to page 200 and I am out. I am just bored. so bored. I liked the depiction of art, and reactions to art from Salo and Sally, but they are a small part of a sprawling story and otherwise I was just perpetually bored while reading this. I had to force myself to return. I could not see
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a reason to spend another 8 hours or so trudging through this. There was no potential payoff. Korelitz's writing is fine, workmanlike but fine. The offhand remarks about NYC and Ithaca were super-relevant to me and smart and funny. But the people! It was not that I did not like them, actually I did sort of like Salo (the father) and two of the three triplets. (Johanna and Harrison were the only truly unlikable characters, both entirely selfish and both drawn with less dimension than the rest of the family.) I just did not care at all about the story. These are not particularly interesting characters, not particularly well drawn, all enduring the non particularly gripping processes of moving through life. I mean, I know the processes are interesting to the people moving through them, but why should I care? I guess my empathy ends where you begin to bore me. Man, I suck. Show Less
LibraryThing member pgchuis
This was long, but I enjoyed every page. The triplets were deceptively sympathetic in the chapters devoted to their perspective, but then the narrative would take a step back and you would realize how oddly or badly they were behaving. There were a couple of climaxes - I found the second
Recommended.
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particularly satisfying - and a happyish ending.Recommended.
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LibraryThing member nivramkoorb
I recently read The Plot by Korelitz so I thought I would read this though it was not a mystery thriller.. What it is is a family saga with a very John Irving and Jonathan Franzen feel to it. It follows a dysfunctional family as its moves through the late 20th and early 21st century. Salo
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Oppenheimer is the driver of a car that has an accident that kills his girl friend and best friend. This accident and his reaction to it defines him. He is part of of a wealthy New York family. Johanna his wife devotes herself to him and longs for a family. After years of trying through using in vitro they are able to have not one but 3 children(triplets). Harrison, Llewyn, and Sally who grow up as individuals with little need or desire to connect with other. Johanna trys to pull them together but it doesn't happen and Salo always is distant as he delves into art and collecting. This is the framework of a story that touches on so many different things such as religion, education, art, infidelity, religion, politics etc. It is very well written and delves deeply into each character. The twist is the "latecomer", Phoebe who is the 4th embryo who Johanna has carried by surrogate and is born 18 years after the triplets when they are leaving home for college. Ultimately she is the one that moves the story forward to an interesting conclusion. This is a 440 page novel with small print that I finished in 2 days. I strongly recommend this book if you like family drama. If you like mystery/thrillers then try her previous book "The Plot". Show Less
LibraryThing member Cariola
I had a difficult time getting into this book, mainly because none of the characters was particularly interesting or likeable, but I'm glad I kept reading it. It took a turn for the better about halfway in. The novel focuses on the Oppenheimer family. Salo, the father, was left emotionally scarred
The triplets are born healthy, but unlike many multiples, they are not bonded and even dislike each other. About the only thing they agree on is that they hate Walden, the private progressive school where their parents have enrolled them. Harrison is the nasty-tempered intellectual who never misses an opportunity to belittle his brother Lewyn. Sally hates both of her brothers, so much so that when she and Lewyn both start their freshman year at Cornell, she informs him that she never wants to meet with or speak with him. Lewyn--well, he's just a nice, average, uninteresting guy with an inferiority complex.
While Johanna spends her time doting over her children and worrying about their dislike of one another, Salo distances himself even further from the family, delving into his art and pondering his guilt over the years-old accident--until a chance meeting with a documentary director who just happens to be the only other survivor of the accident.
So you can probably see why I was about to give up on the book at this point. I don't want to reveal exactly what changed and gave me the incentive to continue reading it, but much of it was due to the arrival of new characters and the convoluted connections between them and the members of the Oppenheimer family. And these connections led to a more positive conclusion and a more positive experience for me as a reader. Suffice it to say that a book I was ready to give up on halfway through ended up being a 4-star read.
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by a fatal accident in which he was the driver: the girl he was dating and his best friend were killed. After the funeral, he bonded with Johanna, the dead girl's bestie, and they eventually married. All Johanna wants is a family, but babies aren't forthcoming, and Salo seems more interested in his collection of modern art than his wife, spending much of his time in a warehouse he has filled with his prized possessions. Eventually he gives in to Johanna's plea to undergo fertility testing. After more failed attempts to get pregnant, four eggs are harvested; three are implanted into Johanna's womb, and the fourth is frozen for future use.The triplets are born healthy, but unlike many multiples, they are not bonded and even dislike each other. About the only thing they agree on is that they hate Walden, the private progressive school where their parents have enrolled them. Harrison is the nasty-tempered intellectual who never misses an opportunity to belittle his brother Lewyn. Sally hates both of her brothers, so much so that when she and Lewyn both start their freshman year at Cornell, she informs him that she never wants to meet with or speak with him. Lewyn--well, he's just a nice, average, uninteresting guy with an inferiority complex.
While Johanna spends her time doting over her children and worrying about their dislike of one another, Salo distances himself even further from the family, delving into his art and pondering his guilt over the years-old accident--until a chance meeting with a documentary director who just happens to be the only other survivor of the accident.
So you can probably see why I was about to give up on the book at this point. I don't want to reveal exactly what changed and gave me the incentive to continue reading it, but much of it was due to the arrival of new characters and the convoluted connections between them and the members of the Oppenheimer family. And these connections led to a more positive conclusion and a more positive experience for me as a reader. Suffice it to say that a book I was ready to give up on halfway through ended up being a 4-star read.
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LibraryThing member nancyadair
A rock in the road flips a Jeep Cherokee, killing two passengers.
A doctor performing in vitro fertilization chooses three of four embryos and triplets are born.
A man boards a plane that crashes into the World Trade Center.
Lives are changed because of chance meetings, or through unexpected
But chance is not the only thing that determines lives. Deliberate choices are made.
A young woman determines to save a man consumed by guilt and to build a close and loving family.
The triplet’s need to be rid of each other tears apart the family.
And nineteen years later, the fourth embryo is taken from the deep freeze, and is born, and grows up and endeavors to mend what has been broken.
The Latercomer arrives late in the story, after we read about Salo Oppenheimer’s accident and his marriage to Johanna; after we watch Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally grow up and make their mistakes and find what they love. It is Phoebe who unravels the family’s twisted history and she tells us the story.
These complex, amazing characters are deeply portrayed. Salo, unable to love anything but the abstract art he collects, only finding love late in his life. The delusional Johanna, whose determination to create the perfect family blinds her to the truth. The intellectual, sarcastic and driven Harrison, conned into radical politics. The gentle, ambivalent Lewyn, who finds a love of art and for Rochelle, who he can’t be honest with, and who is drawn to the certainties of a cultish religion. Sally, who early learns her father’s secret, and as Rochelle’s roommate, dissembles her truth, and who finds satisfaction rummaging through chaotic houses as an antiques ‘picker’.
From the first accident, this family is haunted by an inability to connect and love each other. To fill the gap, they turn to art or antiques or religion. Or affairs, or to family traditions that ape closeness.
The novel is rich in humor and psychological insight and political commentary. Harrison’s friend and political guide Eli Absalom Stone is a brilliant character.
It’s a slow burn of a book and I loved every page. These characters will be with me for a long while.
I received an ARC through BookishFirst in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
A doctor performing in vitro fertilization chooses three of four embryos and triplets are born.
A man boards a plane that crashes into the World Trade Center.
Lives are changed because of chance meetings, or through unexpected
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encounters that speaks to them at the deepest level.But chance is not the only thing that determines lives. Deliberate choices are made.
A young woman determines to save a man consumed by guilt and to build a close and loving family.
The triplet’s need to be rid of each other tears apart the family.
And nineteen years later, the fourth embryo is taken from the deep freeze, and is born, and grows up and endeavors to mend what has been broken.
The Latercomer arrives late in the story, after we read about Salo Oppenheimer’s accident and his marriage to Johanna; after we watch Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally grow up and make their mistakes and find what they love. It is Phoebe who unravels the family’s twisted history and she tells us the story.
These complex, amazing characters are deeply portrayed. Salo, unable to love anything but the abstract art he collects, only finding love late in his life. The delusional Johanna, whose determination to create the perfect family blinds her to the truth. The intellectual, sarcastic and driven Harrison, conned into radical politics. The gentle, ambivalent Lewyn, who finds a love of art and for Rochelle, who he can’t be honest with, and who is drawn to the certainties of a cultish religion. Sally, who early learns her father’s secret, and as Rochelle’s roommate, dissembles her truth, and who finds satisfaction rummaging through chaotic houses as an antiques ‘picker’.
From the first accident, this family is haunted by an inability to connect and love each other. To fill the gap, they turn to art or antiques or religion. Or affairs, or to family traditions that ape closeness.
The novel is rich in humor and psychological insight and political commentary. Harrison’s friend and political guide Eli Absalom Stone is a brilliant character.
It’s a slow burn of a book and I loved every page. These characters will be with me for a long while.
I received an ARC through BookishFirst in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
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LibraryThing member susan.h.schofield
I absolutely loved Jean Hanff Korelitz's last book, The Plot, so I was very excited to get an ARC of The Latecomer from Bookish First. But it did not live up to my high expectations. The book is well written but the first two thirds are so slow. It also does not help that most of the characters are
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very unlikeable and don't even like each other. I did not start to really enjoy the book until the last third when the latecomer finally made her appearance and there was more character development for all the characters. Phoebe is the most developed and mature character in the book despite being the youngest sibling. The rest of the characters were all redeemed in some way by the end and I liked the relationships that developed among the siblings. I also liked Jean Hanff Korelitz's writing style and would definitely read other books by her in the future. Show Less
LibraryThing member KarenSiddall
Addictive reading of an incredibly dysfunctional family, I couldn’t put it down!
From the opening chapters to the very last page, I was completely immersed in the family’s story: mother, father, and triplets. The narrative by the, at first, unnamed sibling was strong and confident, teasing me
The triplets initially put me off, each unpleasant in their way, but as I got their point of view and their stories came out, they won me over – even the obnoxious Harrison had his moments for me. The story is an absorbing family drama, but twists and turns in the plot floored me and kept me glued to the pages: definitely five-star surprises. However, the healing and forgiveness among family members ultimately made this such a satisfying reading experience for me. Won over to each character’s side, I was aching for their futures to work out.
With its smart and smooth writing and delivery and its fascinating plot, I recommend THE LATECOMER to readers of literary fiction, especially those who enjoy epic family dramas.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
From the opening chapters to the very last page, I was completely immersed in the family’s story: mother, father, and triplets. The narrative by the, at first, unnamed sibling was strong and confident, teasing me
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with its foreshadowing, urging me on deeper into the Oppenheimer family drama. I was hooked by not only the story but the author’s deliberate. Engaging writing style and delivery.The triplets initially put me off, each unpleasant in their way, but as I got their point of view and their stories came out, they won me over – even the obnoxious Harrison had his moments for me. The story is an absorbing family drama, but twists and turns in the plot floored me and kept me glued to the pages: definitely five-star surprises. However, the healing and forgiveness among family members ultimately made this such a satisfying reading experience for me. Won over to each character’s side, I was aching for their futures to work out.
With its smart and smooth writing and delivery and its fascinating plot, I recommend THE LATECOMER to readers of literary fiction, especially those who enjoy epic family dramas.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
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LibraryThing member Hccpsk
In The Latecomers by Jean Hanff Korelitz, we follow the Oppenheimer family from a tragedy in the 1970s to a tragedy in the 2000s. This is a long and enjoyable novel focused on mainly unlikeable characters, but Korelitz infuses them with humor and personality that makes them feel very real and
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relatable. She explores the themes of relationships and what makes a family while examining the last 30 or so years of American culture. Show Less
LibraryThing member m.belljackson
From the smoothly mysterious Forward, readers will wonder which of the designated triplets is the one writing "we did," as well is he/she the actual LATECOMER. Some may wish Mandy would return as the LATECOMER since she is the only appealing character for a long time reading.
Even readers with
Trombly actually exists. Intriguing reward there.
The momentum of the three averse to each other even as babies soon becomes a tiresome and everlasting trope, as was the mother's consuming obsession with family
unity. If she had just moved to get a life of her own, it may have inspired the others. It was also hard to believe that babies and toddlers would not draw physically and emotionally closer when needing warmth or comfort.
Stella of course merits attention, yet she never reveals why she, as a feminist documentary artist, would move to wreck a man's family.
Fortunately for the plot, her son brings redemption, if not a real explanation.
Strange too is how the brilliant Harrison came to totally reject his Walden roots.
The story picks up with Lewyn's Passover Seder!
Slowed again by Sally's improbable revenge...
The LATECOMER is definitely a page turner that, despite its length,
may keep readers going on and wanting more, even wishing that crazy old dad
had survived to join the folks on the Vineyard beach.
Even readers with
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little interest in outlier paintings will likely do a Search to see if Trombly actually exists. Intriguing reward there.
The momentum of the three averse to each other even as babies soon becomes a tiresome and everlasting trope, as was the mother's consuming obsession with family
unity. If she had just moved to get a life of her own, it may have inspired the others. It was also hard to believe that babies and toddlers would not draw physically and emotionally closer when needing warmth or comfort.
Stella of course merits attention, yet she never reveals why she, as a feminist documentary artist, would move to wreck a man's family.
Fortunately for the plot, her son brings redemption, if not a real explanation.
Strange too is how the brilliant Harrison came to totally reject his Walden roots.
The story picks up with Lewyn's Passover Seder!
Slowed again by Sally's improbable revenge...
The LATECOMER is definitely a page turner that, despite its length,
may keep readers going on and wanting more, even wishing that crazy old dad
had survived to join the folks on the Vineyard beach.
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LibraryThing member mcelhra
I picked up The Latecomer because I loved Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel The Plot (review hopefully coming soon.) The Latecomer is not a thriller like The Plot but I liked it just as much. It asks the interesting question about how it feels to be born from the “leftover” embryos after your
I really enjoyed The Latecomer. I could relate to the mother wanting her children to stay close to each other and to her. I have four kids and I hope they stay close. And my youngest is nine years younger than his closest sibling so he’s kind of a latecomer as well!
Jean Hanff Korelitz is on her way to becoming one of my favorite authors. Highly recommended.
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parents go through IVF, several years after your siblings have been born. What would your life look like if you had been one of the triplets instead of the much younger singleton? It’s also about sibling dynamics. The triplets do not get a long at all, dashing their mother’s hope that they would always be a close family. That’s one of the reasons she decided to have a fourth child, thinking it would bring everyone together.I really enjoyed The Latecomer. I could relate to the mother wanting her children to stay close to each other and to her. I have four kids and I hope they stay close. And my youngest is nine years younger than his closest sibling so he’s kind of a latecomer as well!
Jean Hanff Korelitz is on her way to becoming one of my favorite authors. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member froxgirl
With a clever concept, following four in vitro embryos and their wealthy parents, this novel is superior in plotting and character development. The first three are two boys and a girl, born in the '80s, and the fourth stays in a freezer until twenty years later. Harrison is a cranky conservative;
Quote: "It was not precisely that she made him wish to be a better man; it was more that she made him WISH he wished to be a better man."
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Sally is closeted and confused; and Lewyn, with no ambition nor ideas of what to do with his life, follows uncomfortably in the wake of the others. The amazing plot point is the triplets' complete dislike of each other and their alienation from their oblivious mother and their distracted father, who was emotionally devastated by a tragic accident during high school and is consumed with a love of modern art. The fourth child is Phoebe, born after her triplet siblings have left home, but destined to bring them together. Each voice is heard and each contributes greatly to the whole as they talk to the reader but not to each other. Highly recommended.Quote: "It was not precisely that she made him wish to be a better man; it was more that she made him WISH he wished to be a better man."
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LibraryThing member Maret-G
I love the cover of this book and here is how I see it. Three big flowers represent the triplets that were born through in-vitro fertilization. One smaller flower symbolizes their sister who was born nineteen years later. She is the "Latecomer", the remaining embryo that was not selected
This literary novel was about the wealthy Oppenheimer family. Johanna and Salo struggled to get pregnant. Actually, it was only Johanna as Salo was never ready to have children but he didn't argue when the doctor suggested IVF as an option. The triplets started to grow apart from the beginning. There was no connection between siblings and nor between their parents. Then one day Johanna found out about her husband having another child with different woman. That was the day she decided to use the last remaining egg that was stored for many years.
What a complicated family that was. Mother who devoted her life to her husband and their children. Father who was avoiding his family. Triplets who were desperate to escape one another. And the Latecomer, who thought she lost everything because she was not born together with the rest of her siblings.
It's a character driven and slow-pacing novel about a disconnected family and their lives. I liked how each chapter focused on a different family member. I didn't actually bond with the triplets, and neither with the parents, until I met Phoebe, the Latecomer. The last chapter was told through the perspective of the youngest Oppenheimer daughter, my favorite one. Because she is the one who will make a difference.
Thank you CeladonBooks and Goodreads Giveaway for sending this ARC.
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originally, but was decided to be brought into the family at the time when her siblings were leaving to the college.This literary novel was about the wealthy Oppenheimer family. Johanna and Salo struggled to get pregnant. Actually, it was only Johanna as Salo was never ready to have children but he didn't argue when the doctor suggested IVF as an option. The triplets started to grow apart from the beginning. There was no connection between siblings and nor between their parents. Then one day Johanna found out about her husband having another child with different woman. That was the day she decided to use the last remaining egg that was stored for many years.
What a complicated family that was. Mother who devoted her life to her husband and their children. Father who was avoiding his family. Triplets who were desperate to escape one another. And the Latecomer, who thought she lost everything because she was not born together with the rest of her siblings.
It's a character driven and slow-pacing novel about a disconnected family and their lives. I liked how each chapter focused on a different family member. I didn't actually bond with the triplets, and neither with the parents, until I met Phoebe, the Latecomer. The last chapter was told through the perspective of the youngest Oppenheimer daughter, my favorite one. Because she is the one who will make a difference.
Thank you CeladonBooks and Goodreads Giveaway for sending this ARC.
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LibraryThing member annbury
This novel follows the fortunes of the Oppenheimers, a wealthy and dysfunctional New York Jewish family. It is complex, but still a very compelling story that keeps those pages turning right up to the end -- I really wanted to know what happened next. The characterization is great; these people
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really come alive. Very well written, a pleasure to read. The first two thirds of the book shows us the dysfunctional part, but things improve in the final third, where mysteries are solved and relationships repaired. The happy ending may seem a bit improbable, given the people involved, but it still made me happy. Good book. Show Less
LibraryThing member mzonderm
Triplets Lewyn, Sally, and Harrison are the much-wanted product of their mother's IVF. Johanna, their mother, dotes on them, but is oblivious to them as actual people. She insists that they love each other, and doesn't seem to notice that they prefer not to be in each other's company. Salo, their
After much excellent exposition setting up the family dynamic, the crux of the matter becomes apparent. The details would spoil the experience, but suffice it to say that Pheobe must overcome her siblings' old resentments and her mother's hang-ups, all formed long before she was born. Naturally, she'll uncover old secrets and learn a few things about herself along the way. But Phoebe is quite determined and not about to let her family members hide behind their usual evasive tricks.
Phoebe's narrative voice makes this book worth reading, even if, for most of the book. A strong and surprising young woman, you may find yourself wishing that she would bring her considerable talents and persistence to solve the problems in your life.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.
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father, is largely uninterested (although not unloving), preferring to spend his time with his art collection, and, eventually, his mistress, until he is killed on 9/11. As the triplets are about to move out, Johanna decides that she wants one last chance at motherhood, and has the fourth embryo of the bunch implanted. Enter Pheobe, who, at 17, is the only member of the family able to see things (more or less) clearly.After much excellent exposition setting up the family dynamic, the crux of the matter becomes apparent. The details would spoil the experience, but suffice it to say that Pheobe must overcome her siblings' old resentments and her mother's hang-ups, all formed long before she was born. Naturally, she'll uncover old secrets and learn a few things about herself along the way. But Phoebe is quite determined and not about to let her family members hide behind their usual evasive tricks.
Phoebe's narrative voice makes this book worth reading, even if, for most of the book. A strong and surprising young woman, you may find yourself wishing that she would bring her considerable talents and persistence to solve the problems in your life.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.
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LibraryThing member AmyLC
The funniest Passover Seder ever.
LibraryThing member Kiaya40
I was hopeful when I heard about this book and looking forward to reading it, but it was a bit of a letdown. I almost didn't finish reading it. It was very slow going for me and the story didn't seem to pick up as much as I was hoping it would.
This story is quite sad in parts and focuses a lot on
Reading this can be a bit hard or triggering in parts in regards to infertility or challenging family relationships, situations, and such. There is some wording and language used when discussing intimacy, infertility, and such that is a bit blunt or maybe a bit weird/off-putting for some as well.
Thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for letting me read and review this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #TheLatecomerBook #CeladonReads
This story is quite sad in parts and focuses a lot on
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the experiences of this family trying to live their life and then discovering as they've grown up that they've grown apart except then they realize they were never really that close, to begin with, it seems. The mother and father meet and marry in not the most ideal circumstances each with their own baggage that seems to permeate through everything It appears and then the mother is the one who wants children while it seems like the father isn't entirely sure but ends up going along with it. There is a bit discussed rather frankly about intimacy and infertility. They end up having triplets, but the 3 siblings are like strangers to each other as well as to the parents and the parents to each other. It's like all the family members are islands unto themselves floating apart and living life apart from each other even though they've grown up in the same house and whatnot. It was rather sad, strange, and a bit depressing as I read about their experiences and how they felt like strangers to each other. Toward the end of the book, things do change a bit for the better though with the coming of the last child into the family.Reading this can be a bit hard or triggering in parts in regards to infertility or challenging family relationships, situations, and such. There is some wording and language used when discussing intimacy, infertility, and such that is a bit blunt or maybe a bit weird/off-putting for some as well.
Thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for letting me read and review this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #TheLatecomerBook #CeladonReads
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LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
This was an interesting family saga. There were four children in the Oppenheimer family proper, all born by in vitro fertilizaion/surrogate. The three oldest, Harrison, Sally and Lewin, were triplets, and they basically hated each other. The first part of the book details their growing up, and is
The youngest Oppenheimer, Phoebe, was born after the triplets were basically adults. She becomes the peacemaker in the family, as she takes on the job of "reweaving the shredded fabric of our family, the figuring out what was owed whom by whom and how we were all supposed to become unstuck with one another." There is also a separate family from a long term relationship the father Salo has with another woman.
The most interesting part of the book for me was the entwining of the story of modern art into the family saga. Salo was an art collector, and had an infallible instinct for purchasing works by an artist just before they became famous. Over the years he amassed a unparalleled collection of artists such as Cy Twombly, Richard Diebenkorn, Brice Marsden, Francis Bacon, Hans Hoffman, Ed Ruscha, Agnes Martin, Alma Thomas, Ellsworth Kelly, Achilles Rizzoli and more. I had such a good time googling the (actual) works described in the book.
A good read.
3 stars
First line: "The Oppenheimer triplets--who were thought of by not a single person who knew them as the 'Oppenheimer triplets'--had been in full flight from one another as far back as their ancestral petri dish."
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basically the saga of a dysfunctional family. The youngest Oppenheimer, Phoebe, was born after the triplets were basically adults. She becomes the peacemaker in the family, as she takes on the job of "reweaving the shredded fabric of our family, the figuring out what was owed whom by whom and how we were all supposed to become unstuck with one another." There is also a separate family from a long term relationship the father Salo has with another woman.
The most interesting part of the book for me was the entwining of the story of modern art into the family saga. Salo was an art collector, and had an infallible instinct for purchasing works by an artist just before they became famous. Over the years he amassed a unparalleled collection of artists such as Cy Twombly, Richard Diebenkorn, Brice Marsden, Francis Bacon, Hans Hoffman, Ed Ruscha, Agnes Martin, Alma Thomas, Ellsworth Kelly, Achilles Rizzoli and more. I had such a good time googling the (actual) works described in the book.
A good read.
3 stars
First line: "The Oppenheimer triplets--who were thought of by not a single person who knew them as the 'Oppenheimer triplets'--had been in full flight from one another as far back as their ancestral petri dish."
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LibraryThing member banjo123
I didn't like this at first, the narrative voice seemed kind of removed. But as I read further, I got into the plot. (although parts were a bit too melodramatic) and toward the end you understand the reason for the narrative voice. It's about triplets, born to a wealthy Jewish family in New York,
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through IVF, and 18 years later, their sister, who was born through an embryo frozen at the same time. So an interesting concept, and parts are very funny. Overall, a book about family ties forged through trauma and dishonesty. But there is a hopefulness here also, and I appreciated that the author doesn't take herself or her subjects too seriously. Show Less
Awards
Sophie Brody Medal (Honorable Mention — 2023)
NPR: Books We Love (2022)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Fiction/Poetry — 2022)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2022
Physical description
448 p.; 8.2 inches
ISBN
1250790786 / 9781250790781