Books Set in North America, United States, Massachusetts

This Is Not About Us, by Allegra Goodman (2026)

The novel opens as sev­en­ty-four-year-old Jean­nie Rubin­stein, the youngest of three sis­ters, is dying.  She is surrounded by her family ~ her two sisters, her sons and her nieces and nephews.  After Jeannie dies, the family gathers with food to mourn her passing.  Sadly, however, Helen, the oldest sister (and apparently a terrible cook), becomes angry when the middle sister, Sylvia, brings an apple cake to the gathering.  Everyone devours Sylvia's cake, thus beginning a feud between Helen and Sylvia.  Although they used to be close, Helen refused to speak with Sylvia.  This is the underlying thread of the novel.

As the novel unfolds, we learn of the lives of the other family members.  Helen and her husband, Charlie, had two daughters ~ Pam and Wendy.  Pam is single, much to the dismay of her parents, and Wendy is happily married to a non-Jewish woman.  Thus, Helen has no grandchildren.  A matter which greatly disturbs Sylvia.  Pam and Wendy have their own tensions and hurt feelings to deal with.

Meanwhile, Sylvia's son, Richard, is navigating a divorce and shared parenting with his ex-wife.  Their two young daughters have their own battles with their parents as they, too, must live with the consequences of the divorce.

Although the novel is "not about us", the reader, probably every family can relate to one or more of the circumstances of this family's trials and tribulations.

Read:  July 31, 2026

4 Stars

Books Set in Asia and Europe, Turkey and London, England

Honor, by Elif Shafak (2011)

The novel opens as Esma, British-Turkish woman, goes to pick up her older brother, Iskender, from prison after serving a term for murdering his mother Pembe.  He was just 16-years-old when he stabbed his mother to death after hearing rumors that his mother was having an affair.  Adem, Pembe's husband, had abandoned the family for another woman, and Iskender felt it was his responsibility to protect the families reputation.

The novel bounces around from the 1940s to 1991, so the family history  slowly peeled back as the events come into focus.  In the 1940s, Pembe and her identical twin sister, Jamila, were born to a poor family in Kurdish Turkey.  Pembe married and ultimately moved to London with her husband and children, hoping for a better life.  Jamila remained in their village.  As a child, she had been abducted, so her virginity was question and she never married.

Life in London, wasn't the golden life as expected.  Does the family adhere to its old traditions, or try to fit into English life?  When Adem moved out, the stage was set for a clash of cultures.  The novel described, in part, the immigrant experience, as well as age-old tradition.  There are a number of twists and turns in this book which make the ending a gift.

Read: July 25, 2026

4 Stars