WE NEVER TOLD

Name: WE NEVER TOLD
Author: Diana Altman
ISBN: 978-1-63152-543-8

by Diana Altman ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 11, 2019

While this narrative remains light on action, the author speaks with sophistication and style about the experiences of...

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A woman born to an affluent New York family reflects on her upbringing and evolving perceptions of her parents.

Altman’s (In Theda Bara’s Tent, 2010, etc.) latest novel begins with an ominous proclamation: “While cleaning out my mother’s files after she died alone at her secluded house behind a locked gate near the Catskill Mountains, her five cats yowling from fear and hunger, I came upon an alarming letter.” From this document, Sonya Adler learns that many years ago, her mother, Violet, gave up a son for adoption. This discovery causes Sonya to recount her life story, beginning with the moment when she was told her parents would be divorcing. Her mother is the beautiful daughter of a wealthy industrialist; her father is an acclaimed movie producer 20 years her senior. After their separation, the shame of her mother’s unmarried status haunts Sonya’s childhood and shapes her view of relationships into adulthood. Altman’s writing is thoughtful and articulate. Though Sonya’s story includes many formative experiences, such as moving to a new neighborhood, mourning her relatives’ deaths, and falling in love with her eventual husband, the focus repeatedly returns to her mother. Violet is shown to be a complex, at times contradictory person. It is up to readers to decide whether she is petulant or passionate; an irresponsible mother or a woman trying to escape the expectations of a 1950s housewife. Sonya narrates her views on feminist issues and social mores quite earnestly. Many of her anecdotes are compelling and historically revealing, such as her fight to keep her maiden surname when casting a vote. She is admirably cognizant of her own flaws: She admits to being sheltered, changing for people who make her unhappy, and feeling jealous of her sister. But despite its many strengths, the plot is often lacking in conflict. Sonya describes her personal dramas quietly and solemnly, and few are sustained for very long. As a result, the flavor of the story is slightly bland.

While this narrative remains light on action, the author speaks with sophistication and style about the experiences of American women in the recent past.

Pub Date: June 11, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-63152-543-8

Page Count: 305

Publisher: She Writes Press

Review Posted Online: March 19, 2019

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

RELIGIOUS FICTION

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IN THEDA BARA'S TENT
by Diana Altman

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HOLLYWOOD EAST
by Diana Altman

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THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS

by C.S. Lewis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1942

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These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942

ISBN: 0060652934

Page Count: 53

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943

Categories:

RELIGIOUS FICTION

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ALL MY ROAD BEFORE ME
by C.S. Lewis

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PRESENT CONCERNS
by C.S. Lewis

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BOXEN
by C.S. Lewis

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THE CHOSEN

by Chaim Potok ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 1967

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This first novel, ostensibly about the friendship between two boys, Reuven and Danny, from the time when they are fourteen on opposing yeshiva ball clubs, is actually a gently didactic differentiation between two aspects of the Jewish faith, the Hasidic and the Orthodox. Primarily the Hasidic, the little known mystics with their beards, earlocks and stringently reclusive way of life. According to Reuven's father who is a Zionist, an activist, they are fanatics; according to Danny's, other Jews are apostates and Zionists "goyim." The schisms here are reflected through discussions, between fathers and sons, and through the separation imposed on the two boys for two years which still does not affect their lasting friendship or enduring hopes: Danny goes on to become a psychiatrist refusing his inherited position of "tzaddik"; Reuven a rabbi.... The explanation, in fact exegesis, of Jewish culture and learning, of the special dedication of the Hasidic with its emphasis on mind and soul, is done in sufficiently facile form to engage one's interest and sentiment. The publishers however see a much wider audience for The Chosen. If they "rub their tzitzis for good luck,"—perhaps—although we doubt it.