What do readers think of The Family Tabor by Cherise Wolas? Write your own review.

Cherise Wolas follows The Resurrection of Joan Ashby with another wonderfully written novel. I was engaged from page one to the end with this family's secrets, past and present. The characters are well drawn and true to life. I love this author's way with words.

The Family Tabor tells a story about individual family lives, the perceptions vs reality and what remains private. The Father is being honored for his work in the community helping others. He feels, as does his family feel, that this honor is due to "a life well lived". This is a privileged family, but from where and how did that privilege come to their family? At times, the family members seem to want what the others have, parents and siblings. These are complicated relationships. Religion plays a part and is a continuous thread in the story. Initially, I had a hard time "getting into" the book, but after a few …more chapters, I was hooked. The ending is surprising and stayed with me for a while. Harry, I wish I knew you. (less)

I enjoyed Cherise Wolas' novel. The characters were well developed in a very sensitive way. I found it interesting that for a very close family, each one has a secret, except for Roma.

This is an exquisite, poignant and soul searching read. Each member of the Family Tabor is so thoughtfully and thoroughly rendered that I felt that I was living with them as an interested bystander who wanted to be a part of their family. The secrets they each had and how carefully they kept them hidden were beautifully defined.
But, ultimately, it was the why of those secrets that bound them all together and changed each of them in ways they never imagined. I am so looking forward to having my book club read this because I think the discussion could go on for days!! Thank you so much for letting me read and enjoy this book.

This is a family saga written from the perspective of the individual parents and their three adult children. Their lives and deepest secrets are laid bare. In the telling we learn much about life choices and their consequences, the impact of even the smallest of lies on our relationships, and the destructiveness of self deception.

This is a book that plumbs the richness of our inner lives. I loved the writing, loved the book. Cherise Wolas is an author to remember and to follow. Would certainly recommend this book for a serious introspective reader.

I found this story meaningful. Truth, lies and evasions mixed together to form a very human family. Mother, father, sisters and brother each have their own part. Read it, enjoy it and think about what you read. I believe you will be glad you did.

Cherise Wolas has done it again. Her strong, evocative writing immediately pulled me in. The Family Tabor explores the paths Harry, Roma, Phoebe, Camille and Simons' lives are taking…and the paths they NEED to take. Memory suppression, avoiding acknowledging an inner hunger, presenting a less than true self to family members – so much is tackled and obtained in this book. Wolas has an in depth understanding of human nature. In addition, I learned much about the Jewish religion and child psychology. Kudos…and I enjoyed the nod to her first book in Phoebe's reading material.

I am beginning my essay about The Family Tabor, a novel by Cherise Wolas with an excerpt of the diary written by my paternal grandmother, Annie Weinstein. She put the date, 1898 and a quote "All is Vanity". She began, "Determined in 1891 to keep a diary but put it off until I should have something worth writing. I thought of it again in 1894 yet I still decided to wait. Then in 1898 I resolved firmly to start it right then and there and ended by starting it to-day September seventh, 1898. " I was born September 30th, 1879 in Lebau, Russia, now Latvia. Libau, founded in 1625, was until 1914 one of the main ports …more of the Russian empire.

"My parents were comfortably possessed of this world's goods and so I had no sufferings on that account. I remember very little about Russia as I was about five when I left Russia, for the "Eldorado of the West" the United States. In New York things were very different and from our passage across the Atlantic dates my memory. I remember that my mother and sister were very ill but as I have always been hardy the voyage had very little effect on me. Our first residence in N.Y. was in 61 East Broadway and I remember it was quite a nice street. But here we were very poor and a little later moved to rooms a little cheaper and nicer in 5 Eldridge Street from there we opened a little store at 199? Bryant St. There, as though we were not poor enough we were robbed of almost everything we had. Then to 68 Bayard later to 54 Division where my father fell ill and we almost despaired of his life but Thank God he recovered. From there to 44 Allen St. again to 105 Allen St. and then to 83-1/2 Division where our fortunes turned…
   
My maternal grandmother was from Bialystok, my grandfather from Kiev. Reading Wolas' novel, I was transported back into my own family history as well as that of the Tabor family. Each of her characters resonated with someone I know. Roma, a child psychologist, is someone I know well as I am a forensic child psychologist. Her daughters, Phoebe, a lawyer and Camille, the anthropologist. My family includes lawyers, economists and others. They become comfortable companions with their brother Simon and his family on this tale of atonement and redemption. We discover the hidden truths, the layers covered on and move forward.
   
There is some much rich material in this novel. It bears several readings. Camille studied the Triobriand Islands. It was here that Mead studied teenaged girls and published her findings that adolescent "storm and stress" is not universal and continues to stand the test of time. Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski was Mead's mentor. His ethnography of the Trobriand Islands described the complex institution of the Kula ring, and became foundational for subsequent theories of reciprocity and exchange. His approach and that of this novel was a brand of psychological functionalism emphasizing how social and cultural institutions serve basic human needs. This is a wonderful book, reminiscent of Mann's Buddenbrooks but ultimately more hopeful.
   
Wolas' ends with Leonard Cohen. "If you are the dealer, I'm out of the game. If you are the healer, it means I'm broken and lame. If thine is the glory, then mine must be the shame. You want it darker. We kill the flame. Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name. Vilified, crucified, in the human frame. A million candles burning for the help that never came. You want it darker. Hineni, hineni. I'm ready, my lord. (less)