This Is Not About Us

Praise for This Is Not About Us

“Goodman delivers a bighearted linked story collection about a family’s travails. . . . Each story succeeds on its own; taken together, they reveal how a family’s bonds are shaped and tested by tradition as well as by each individual’s recurring patterns. In their messiness and constant striving for harmony, the Rubensteins are wholly relatable. This is one to treasure.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A beautiful story of generations of a complicated family.”—Town & Country

“Goodman offers an unsparingly frank, wryly funny take on a multigenerational American family. Almost exactly one year after the publication of Goodman’s wonderful work of historical fiction, Isola, the author returns with a very different novel—yet one that is no less insightful, enthralling, and eminently enjoyable to read. . . . Like an exquisitely baked apple cake, Goodman’s delicious and deeply perceptive novel is something to savor.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Goodman overlaps characters and storylines, repeatedly, from different perspectives and the reader is treated to experiencing the family as a symphony, not necessarily a harmonious arrangement, but satisfying all the same as an excellent read.”—Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews

“The always-transporting Goodman follows her bravura historical novel, Isola . . . with a return to her novelist’s roots in a family saga seasoned with mirth and marveling over human perversity . . . each character comes into focus as a shrewd confection of dreams and self-sabotage, each scene is radiant with warmth and insight, and the dialogue and inner monologues are crisp, funny, and poignant . . . Astute, incisive, and soulfully witty, Goodman circulates among her irresistible characters to that each intriguing point of view reveals another facet of their tumultuous family dynamic.”—Booklist, starred review


Praise for the work of Allegra Goodman

“Full of wit and spark . . . Irresistible and arresting.”—The New York Times Book Review

“These characters and the situations they find themselves in are so authentic and familiar, we respond to them as though they are family. They get under our skin, make us roll our eyes, get us snorting with laughter and recognition.”—The Boston Globe