Jessica Soffer’s new novel is this beautifully told story of a long-lasting marriage between Abe, a writer and professor, and Jane, a visual artist, who is dying of cancer. These are not spoilers. They are New Yorkers, and they are artists. Their marriage has worked–but not without challenges. As Jane succumbs to cancer, they trace their lives together–thinking about parenthood, artistry, and the impact of their connection/commitment/choices/forgiveness/survival. The title gives the end away.
Lara: I have learned something about myself in the last year or so. I love a love story. That’s not to say I love romance novels. But books that center on a relationship and its beautiful flaws and missteps really are my jam. And this is the second book we’ve reviewed this year in which a decades-long union is at the center of the story. (Our first is reviewed here: The Heart of Winter.) What did you think of this one?
Jennifer: You love a love story? I wonder if I can say the same about myself! I did like–possibly love–this one. (I wasn’t that thrilled about the one you referenced above.) Soffer, though, is one of those writers of individually beautiful sentences, one-after-the-other. Like, blow-you-away beauty. And, as you know, I’m smitten with New York novels. So, it’s a win.
Was it pure love for you? Any problems with it?
Lara: The sentences are really beautiful. And for those who care about this stuff: this is a talky, character-driven novel. Stuff happens, but it’s all about the people and what they are thinking and feeling.
Jennifer: I personally adore that.
Lara: I mean, read this:
“The thing he loves most about her, he always says, is everything. Sometimes, it feels like the thing she loves most is that it feels like he’s saving her life.”
I loved the structure, alternating chapters told from the perspectives of Abe, Jane, Max (their son), Alice (Abe’s student), and Central Park. When an author can effectively make good use of place – to the point that place feels like another character – I am doubly smitten.
I wouldn’t say that I had any problems with the book. I didn’t always like the choices of their son Max, but I think a lot of it has to do with how he was raised by two parents whose art (writing and visual arts) took a primary position in all of their lives. Interestingly, no one expected Jane to mother differently, least of all Abe’s mother (Jewish grandma, “Bubbe”) who rose to the occasion and served as a primary caregiver to Max.
Jennifer: Yes, their art took precedence over their parenting. I guess this personally hit me, Lara. I think I share some of Jane’s weirdnesses in that my role as writer is more “natural” to me –or initially was more “natural”–to me than my role as mother. However, things changed. I turned 100% into MOM. Unquestionably. I’m a writer, for sure. But I’m a mom first.
All that to say, I understood Jane, but I didn’t like it.
Lara: I get that, and I think this is a real struggle for so many mothers. What is our identity once we have this child (these children) to care for, raise, and launch into the world? I have worked hard to nurture all the roles I play and hats I wear because, in the end, we do launch them into the world or they launch themselves and we have to have something left… something that continues.
That said, I think Jane struggled with the balance or juggling of roles. She felt resentment and disconnection that could have been postpartum depression or more; we don’t really know. What we see is an adult son who struggles to connect with partners–especially the one he thinks could be the one. Was that due to Jane’s mothering or lack of presence in his life? I’m not a therapist, but I think it played a part. And I am not here to judge Jane. I think she did what she knew how to do. And what do any of us really know how to do? So many days we are just getting by. Especially in those early parenting years.
“The thing about parenting, Jane thinks, is how often failure is on the line. All the time. Every time.”
Jennifer: And, also, let’s just acknowledge that sometimes kids do not-so-great things, even though the parents really tried hard.
Lara: One. Million. Percent.
Jennifer: Still on this mother-thing, I have to bring up this other book that I was ironically reading at the same time: Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. In that book, we hear about what an absolutely terrible mom Fleishman’s ex-wife is (there is another perspective but this is his perspective). I was pretty struck by the comparisons between these two books! Jewish families, New York, bad moms. However, Jane is a way better mom than Rachel Fleishman. Still, interesting to read together!
I think I understand Jane’s struggles more than Rachel’s (in Toby Fleishman’s perspective).
Okay, so, Lara, is this a good marriage?
Lara: Great question. Yes, I do think it is. Was it without problems? Of course not. Did they love and respect each other? I think we can say they did. And I think they course-correct at the right times and come back to each other. They continue to choose each other above everything else.
Jennifer: We’re not giving stuff away, but I do like how the book deals with indiscretion and what is forgivable and what isn’t. Also, I like how Soffer shows that short moments in time can have profound and lasting effects for decades.
Lara: I think that’s a good call out. Look, in any long-term relationship, people are going to hurt each other. Bad choices are made. Conflicts are had. Some cannot survive. Some can, even if they leave deep and lasting scar tissue behind.
Jennifer: I’m going to launch into a display of Soffer’s talent. As I read (I do recommend reading a hard copy rather than audio, in order to really take in these beautiful sentences), I jotted down some of my favorites. One thing to note is that Abe is recalling memories to his dying wife, and his narration is in second person (not all of these are Abe’s).
“I want to follow you raspberry picking…”
“I remember how light always found your cheekbones, butterflies flocked your hair.”
“I remember the first time we slept together, you moved my face toward yours like it was a reading light and said, Here.”
Eye color is described as “ . . . the color of a squirrel’s back.”
“ . . . her thoughts are like fireflies when you turn on the lights.”
“ . . . you remember when my mother died and how you knew at the very moment. It felt as if something had fallen and smashed in another room you said.”
“ . . . like if she was on a deserted island, she’d be fine.… On a deserted island, you would not be all right. You’ve got no idea how to make a fire from sticks.”
Lara: Soffers sentences are magical. Truly.
“You ask to take a break. You lie down but the words keep coming. Forgive me that I don’t tell you to stop.”
SWOON.
“You remember thinking I’d grown out of the things you loved, and wishing I’d grown into them instead.”
“After Jane’s mother died, for months, Jane thought she saw her everywhere: running toward the sun at dusk, skirt flying behind her like fabric wings… Always, always, Jane would stay up late drawing the images. To keep her. To be there too.”
Jennifer: It’s a book to read, for sure. What else have you been reading?
Lara: I have had some hits and misses in my reading life. The misses were Trust by Hernan Diaz (I know, I know. He won the Pulitzer for this) I DNF’d a book I can’t even remember the title of. An okay/fine book was Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers. The hits were Isola by Allegra Goodman, and A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci (recommended to me by my son). I am still making my way through Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove with two different book clubs, and am loving it. And, humble brag, I appeared on the What Should I Read Next? podcast with Anne Bogel and got some great recommendations, some of which we will review here!
Jennifer: You were great on the podcast! I’m reading (still) War and Peace by Tolstoy–over the course of the year, But here’s something funny/not-funny. I’m also reading Maya & Natasha by Elyse Durham (recommended on your podcast), and–I kid you not–she included a spoiler for the ONE storyline I am actually into in War and Peace! I also read Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (totally fun), Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (mostly brilliant though a bit long), Fleishman Is in Trouble (too much sex but insightful and I kept picturing Jessie Eisenberg and Claire Danes as the leads from the TV show), and The Harder I Fight the More I Love You by Neko Case (pretty good). Man, that sounds like a ton!
Lara: It IS a ton. NICE work.
Next Up!
We will be back soon to dish on Maya and Natasha by Elisa Durham.