I recently read "Everything You Know" by Zoe Heller, which evoked a mix of opinions from me. Did I love it or hate it? A bit of both to be honest. But it was well written and engaging so bearing this in mind I decided to read another of her novels, "The Believers". This novel is decidedly different from her debut and focuses on the family of a famous New York socialist lawyer. When Joel, the matriarch head of the household suffers a stroke, a secret about his past is revealed which throws wife Audrey's life into turmoil. At the same time daughter Rosa is dabbling with Orthodox Judaism, middle daughter Karla is in the midst of an ...  Read the complete review

This is one of two basic story types, as I see it. There are the self-contained stories that have a clear start and a finish, and you're not left feeling as if you need to know any more or less about the characters in question, and then there are books like this. This is one of those where it feels just like when I used to sit at the top of the stairs listening to my parents talking about something intriguing to their friends downstairs. I'd be sitting wondering what I'd missed before this part of the conversation, and then, frustratingly, they'd close the door, or someone would have a coughing fit, just at the most crucial point of the story, and I'd miss the conclusion  Read the complete review