![]() And with the introduction of imminent tragedy, the plot abruptly crashes. But while the social satire is deft, the action upon which Mendelson hangs it veers into farce. ![]() Claudia, however, must preserve the myth of a perfect family because it's the basis of her about-to-be published memoir, “a moral and ethical handbook for families of the new millennium.” What makes Mendelson's novel especially naughty are her candid observations about the “crouching, self-loathing way” that many English Jews try to fit into Anglo society while simultaneously maintaining their traditions: Claudia's seder, for example, is a comic set piece of frantic preparation and grim hospitality. But as the plodding eldest, Leo, leaves the altar to run off with his mistress, the fault lines are exposed: next-eldest Frances eventually admits to her despair about her dutiful marriage and her lack of maternal feeling, and even colorless Norman turns out to have a guilty secret. Claudia seems to have molded nebbishy husband Norman and their four children into the perfect family. ![]() ![]() ) presents London's Rubin clan, presided over by matriarch Claudia, a brilliant, charismatic London rabbi blessed with zaftig curves and a will of steel. With humor and panache, British writer Mendelson ( Love in Idleness New novel TheExhibitionist out NOW also When We Were Bad, Almost English + Rhapsody In Green Gardening Correspondent newyorkermag. ![]()
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