Random House Publishing Group This Is Not About Us

"A kaleidoscopic portrait of a modern American family-steadfast, complicated, begrudging, and loving-from the bestselling author of Isola ""Wise, witty . . . a deliciously readable book [about] the delicate minutiae of family life, played beautifully, boldly, brightly in a major key.""-The New York Times Book Review ""Goodman's mature and deftly written book suggests that, in family as in art, there is no such thing as uncomplicated happiness.""-The Wall Street Journal Was this just a brief skirmish, or the beginning of a thirty-year feud? In the Rubinstein family, it could go either way. When their beloved sister passes away, Sylvia and Helen Rubinstein are unmoored. A misunderstanding about apple cake turns into a decade of stubborn silence. Busy with their own lives-divorces, dating, career setbacks, college applications, bat mitzvahs and ballet recitals-their children do not want to get involved. As for their grandchildren? Impossible. With This Is Not About Us, master storyteller Allegra Goodman-whose prior collection was heralded as ""one of the most astute and engaging books about American family life"" (The Boston Globe)-returns to the form and subject that endeared her to legions of readers. Sharply observed and laced with humor, This Is Not About Us is a story of growing up and growing old, the weight of parental expectations, and the complex connection between sisters-a big-hearted book about the love that binds a family across generations. " ...