Lately I have been really into historical fiction and women's fiction books. Just like my taste in music, my taste in books changes constantly. My most recent historical/womens's fiction read is debut author's Lynda Cohen Loigman's The Two-Family House.
This book I requested from Netgalley and I will admit that it took me a little bit to get into this story. It wasn't until I was about 23% in that it got really interesting and I was immediately hooked. Like to the point where I was daydreaming about the story when I wasn't reading it. It was worth the easing into.
This novel is about two families- Mort & Abe are brothers who run a box company together and share a house that has been made into two apartments. Mort and his wife, Rose, live downstairs in the apartment they share with their 3 daughters. Abe and his wife, Helen, live upstairs with their 4 sons. These families could not be more different. Both Rose & Helen find themselves pregnant at the same time. Rose desperately wants a son, while Helen wishes for a little girl. The night these two women give birth change the lives of all those around them.
The reason this book was so good is because of Loigman's perfect description of all the character's feelings and emotions. This story is told through different family members perspectives and each character's side of the story is filled with a complex mixture of emotions and thoughts. This family is highly complex (like most families are)- through joy, pain, anger, resentment, bitterness, secrets, and tragic loss I was taken on the journey of everyday life with the family. So basic, yet so compelling, it really puts into perspective how important family is and how easily family can change how you feel and think about the world that exists outside your front door.
Each character was so highly complex but so fully developed I felt like I knew each one personally. I was quick to take sides with a character during a chapter, only to switch sides during the next chapter when the story is told through different eyes. These were highly memorable characters. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.
I, the reader, knew there was a secret to be told throughout the entire book, yet Loigman left just enough mystery to keep me reading. I was dying to know when this secret would come to light or even if it would ever come to light. I saw each character's relationship with one another grow stronger and/or start to unravel. The way Loigman brought together and told the stories of such complicated relationships has me thinking about this book long after I turned the last page. I look forward to following Lynda Cohen Loigman and her writings. I hope she has many more stories to tell and novels to write.
The Two-Family House: A Novel is set to be released March 8, 2016. If you want a quick, yet meaningful read please pre-order it now!
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and author Loigman for allowing me to read and review this impressive debut book.
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