What do readers think of Morningside Heights by Joshua Henkin? Write your own review.

I had high expectations for this book and was really looking forward to reading it, mostly because it's set in the neighborhood where I grew up and of which I have fond memories. While the upper west side of Manhattan was the location for most of the book, it probably could have been set in almost any metropolitan area with a university as a backdrop.

If this book is supposed to be funny, the humor was lost on me. The characters were so strange and their interactions to each other made little sense to me. This definitely would make a GREAT book club pick since I would love to discuss it with someone, but sadly I didn't like it enough to recommend it to anyone.

Spence Robin is a Distinguished Professor at Columbia University, a recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award and has a waiting list for his classes on Shakespeare. He marries his graduate student Pru, but neglects to tell her until they are seriously involved in their relationship that he has a son (Arlo) by a previous marriage. Arlo's mother got custody of their child and Spence sees him on holidays and one month in the summer. When Arlo is 15 he comes to live with them, they have a young daughter named Sarah. Arlo calculates he has spent a total of two years with his father.

Sarah is very smart and excels in school while Arlo is dyslexic and struggles with reading and keeps getting left back. I found this section of the book where Spence decides there is nothing wrong with his son other than that he's lazy and decides to teach him to read very disturbing. Spence is a bully and arrogant. Love or lack thereof is a constant in this father and son relationship. Eventually Arlo leaves and goes back to living with the peripatetic Linda who neglects his schooling and they move around each time she becomes involved with a new man.

The POV switches throughout the book between characters, time periods and locations, while not too jarring it was rather annoying. People leave abruptly and don't stay in contact with each other for years (mostly Arlo) and then they unceremoniously reappear and at the same time profess to really love each other.

I don't mind a book where none of the characters are "likeable" however none of these characters were relatable to me; for smart people they sure were dumb in some ways. For example, if someone can no longer do daily tasks without help i.e., put on their shoes and lace them – give them loafers to wear. If you are nervous about cutting someone when you shave them – use an electric razor. Perhaps I am quibbling about trivia, but these things drove me crazy.

On the plus side the descriptions of dealing with Alzheimer's were heartbreaking and very well written. Pru's struggle to get help and decisions on whether or not to get Spence into an experimental treatment program as well as her guilt over trying to still maintain a life of her own struck a chord.

I found Arlo to be the most interesting character in the book. He appears for a while, then disappears, he starts schools and then drops out. He seems to have a strong moral compass no thanks to his upbringing, he becomes very successful and yet is a social misfit.

I wish I could give this book a higher rating, but all-in-all it left me dissatisfied.

I'm sorry to say, after many attempts to get into this book, I could not finish it.

How to tell you about this book. It tries to deal with a loved one getting dementia and how it affects those in the family and others that were part of his world. That being said, I thought the overall story dealt lightly with each person, the professor who had dementia, his wife, estranged son, daughter, and professors and students.

We get to know each person's history and how they cope with the professor's dementia but we are never told how they feel, what are there fears, hopes, and how does it change their feelings for him. His spouse copes as well as she can but I never felt any empathy for her or others.

Sorry , I love reading but can't really recommend this one.

Spence Robin is a celebrated scholar who develops early onset Alzheimers disease. I felt this had the potential to explore what a family would go through in caring for a family member and their struggles which it did to a degree. The problem I had was that I didn't find any of these characters sympathetic at all. I didn't really care what happened to them and it made it difficult to finish it. I will not be recommending it to others.

I found Morningside Heights by Joshua Henkin such a depressing story. Perhaps it is because we are in a pandemic and a member of my family suffers from Parkinson's disease but I struggled to get through this book. I was looking for "the sweeping and compassionate novel" but was disappointed. I like to read a book where you care about the characters but I never cared about them. I found Arlo especially annoying where he enters his stepsister's room and cuts off her hair. What was that about! I also didn't like this book because I just read The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman and I loved that book and its endearing characters. This book was not the book for me.