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Jill F. (Blackwood, NJ)
Loved it!
I don't what it says about me that I loved this book as much as I did. On the face of it, dystopian society, murder, terrorism, persecution. Having fun yet?
Haven't we all had that one person in our lives at one time who made us think "justifiable homicide?"
Julian Jacobson is the poster child for justifiable homicide. "Thou shall not kill" be damned!
Dark, disturbing, quirky, fun - this book has it all.
Maggie R. (Canoga Park, CA)
The title gives you a clue . . Hang in there
The real question is, tell me how this book is so funny, sad and scary all at the same time. Anyone who has found a place in his heart for "The Family Fang", the "Sisters Brothers", and "The Middlesteins" will want to sit down and hear the story of the Jacobsons. Nuff said.
Joane W. (Berlin, MD)
Tell me how this ends well
I loved this book. It is a many faceted story: black humor, anti semitism and a wonderfully dysfunctional family. I did not find it very futuristic except for an unerring prophecy of Israel. I would like to say more but it would be more enjoyable to read it yourself.
Lee M. (Creve Coeur, MO)
Passover
Its 2022 and a family gathers for Passover. And the hilarity begins. All the serious, earth shattering, jaw-dropping troubles that can happen to each individual does happen and somehow Mr. Levinson makes it all funny, enjoyable and OH 'something like that happened in our family.' And we recognize some of our great crazy relatives. I smiled or laughed all the way through.
Sally H. (Geneva, OH)
Tell Me How This Ends Well
This book is disturbing, hilarious, satisfying (Julian got what he deserved), ridiculous and in many ways all too real (though I fervently hope that the book's raging return of anti-Semitism never becomes real). I rated it a 4 rather than a 5 because it seemed to get bogged down in unnecessary detail a few times, but overall I found it well worth my time. I plan to recommend it to my book club.
Susan S. (Lafayette, CA)
Tell Me How This Ends Well
This book uses a literary device that I love of letting us see the family history and the events immediately before, during, and after the central event from the point of view of each of the three adult children and one other family member. Each person knows different things and has different feelings about the gathering and each other, and I kept re-setting my understanding of events and people as I progressed through the book. The book is sometimes very funny, especially in the first section, but of course also is intentionally unsettling as we are continually made aware of what is happening in the world and
…more in the country (particularly since none of that seems far-fetched).
I thought it dragged a little in the middle, but the last sixty pages or so make up for that. I loved the last part of the book, about which I do not want to say anything more specific in order to avoid spoilers. I will just say that there is a real payoff at the end. (less)The year is 2022 and the dysfunctional family portrayed in the novel is planning to kill their bullying father to protect their dying mother. I really didn't connect with story until reading the mother's story near the end. It reminds me that I was happy growing up as an only child!
The author writes of the demise of the state of Israel after a 3 day war and the rise of virulent anti-Semitism that the world's Jewish people are facing. It was disturbing to read because anit-Semitism is on the rise in America today.
Portia A. (Monroe Township, NJ)
More frightening than funny
Considering the uptick of anti semitism our country has experienced recently, I found this story to be upsetting rather than funny.
The story hinges on a plot to kill an abusive man, who no doubt deserved it, but interwoven in the plot was the effects of the hatred evinced toward the Jewish people.I hope the book isn't prescient.
The book is well written and worth reading.
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