Brooklyn, 1947: In the midst of a blizzard, in a two-family brownstone, two babies are born, minutes apart. The mothers are sisters by marriage: dutiful, quiet Rose, who wants nothing more than to please her difficult husband; and warm, generous Helen, the exhausted mother of four rambunctious boys who seem to need her less and less each day. Raising their families side by side, supporting one another, Rose and Helen share an impenetrable bond forged before and during that dramatic winter night. When the storm passes, life ...
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Brooklyn, 1947: In the midst of a blizzard, in a two-family brownstone, two babies are born, minutes apart. The mothers are sisters by marriage: dutiful, quiet Rose, who wants nothing more than to please her difficult husband; and warm, generous Helen, the exhausted mother of four rambunctious boys who seem to need her less and less each day. Raising their families side by side, supporting one another, Rose and Helen share an impenetrable bond forged before and during that dramatic winter night. When the storm passes, life seems to return to normal; but as the years progress, small cracks start to appear and the once deep friendship between the two women begins to unravel. No one knows why, and no one can stop it. One misguided choice; one moment of tragedy. Heartbreak wars with happiness and almost, but not quite, wins. Moving and evocative, Lynda Cohen Loigman's debut novel The Two-Family House is a heart-wrenching, gripping multigenerational story, woven around the deepest of secrets.
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I enjoyed this book and the characters created by the author. We all make choices in our lives and have to live with the outcome of them. These women make a major choice and they come to live with it in two very different ways. The relationships between family members are explored and the long term effects of them on lives going forward. The bittersweet ending was very satisfying.
KrisAndersonTAR
Apr 20, 2016
I just did not enjoy it!
The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman is the story about two brothers who share a family home. Mort, Rose, and their daughters live in the downstairs apartment. Abe, Helen, and their four boys live upstairs. The two brothers work together at Box Brothers. They make cardboard boxes for businesses. Helen and Rose end up pregnant at the same time with their babies due in January. Their children are born during a winter storm in Brooklyn in 1947. One woman wants a boy and the other a girl. They have the opportunity to get what they want and take it. See how this one choice (act) changes their lives and their families.
The Two-Family House is a slow starter. It is hard to get to keep reading this book, but I persisted. The novel was okay (satisfactory), but not wonderful. The story just plods along telling you what happens because of the decision these two women made (and one regrets it). The characters were flat. The Two-Family House is told in a first person point-of-view by various characters (which leads to confusion as it switches). The novel needed a little something (like maybe making it more of a secret) to make it more appealing. It needed more depth and interest. It reads more like a first or second draft, than a finished novel. I give The Two-Family House 2 out of 5 stars.
I received a complimentary copy of The Two-Family House from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
