The Two-Family House: A Heartwarming Novel About Family Secrets and Relationships | Perfect for Book Clubs and Weekend Reading

Lynda Cohen Loigman took me on an emotional roller coaster ride in her spectacular debut, THE TWO-FAMILY HOUSE, and I loved every minute. Set in Brooklyn, this is the story of two brothers and their families, beginning in 1947 and proceeding chronologically to the present.Abe and Mort could not be more different. Abe is an affable, popular family man; Mort can be described generously as a pompous sourpuss. Together they own Box Brothers, a small company that makes - yes - boxes, and a two-family house. Abe, Helen and their four sons live above Mort, Rose and their three daughters in the large duplex.Mort barely tolerates his glad-handing brother, and even worse, he does not like women, despite living with four. He shows no affection or respect toward his long-suffering wife and treats his daughters like nuisances. His life would be infinitely better, he thinks, if only he had a son. Abe, on the other hand, loves people, most of all his family. He is the de facto father of all seven children, happily playing baseball with his boys and treating all the kids to ice cream.Helen and Rose are best of friends in 1947. The two families live almost as one, and Rose has a confidante in Helen. When both women discover that they are pregnant again and due at almost the same time, they are openly overjoyed, while inwardly not so much. Helen envisions herself with a daughter, and Rose is terrified that she will yet again fail to produce Mort's son.During a terrible blizzard while both men are away, Helen and Rose go into labor. Getting to a hospital in the storm is an impossibility. Their only recourse is a nearby midwife, who with help from Rose's eldest daughter, 13-year-old Judith, delivers two babies. Divine intervention, some might call it: Helen finally has her daughter; Rose, Mort's longed-for son.Mort is in heaven as he plans every day of young Teddy's future. His bookkeeping project with God has finally paid off. The points he awarded himself for good behavior during Rose's pregnancy placed him on the asset page of The Holy Ledger. And Helen has a daughter at last.What could possibly go wrong with this rosy picture? As time passes after the birth of the babies, Rose seems to be afflicted with postpartum depression. She lets herself and her always immaculate house go and cannot tolerate Teddy's incessant crying. Always-loving Helen tries everything in her power to help her dearest friend. Small cracks in Helen's and Rose's relationship begin to develop, mystifying everyone in both families. The cracks quickly widen as Rose makes excuses to avoid traditional holiday dinners and even daily chitchat over coffee and Danish. Helen is devastated as the friendship disintegrates.The players in this character-driven novel are richly developed. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one character, and I quickly became well acquainted with everybody. How well I identified with Judith who, with no encouragement from her parents, was accepted by Bryn Mawr and Barnard a year early. How deflated she felt when no congratulations were forthcoming from either parent. Graduating as high school valedictorian went almost unnoticed, and she dutifully enrolled at CCNY. My own father was closer to the Mort end of the father spectrum, which most likely explains why I empathized with Judith above all others in the book. Although not one of the protagonists, Judith's role in the story is pivotal.Natalie, Helen's and Abe's daughter, is a joy. A bit precocious and a little sassy, she is lovable from the day of her birth. At age 10, she is already a budding psychologist and a not-so-subtle peacemaker.Creating believable characters and dialogue of this high caliber is a gift that Lynda Cohen Loigman uses well. She immediately drew me into the story, and I could not stop reading until I reached the end - an all-nighter! She also perfectly depicts each time period, a bonus for me. How many happy memories of my own mother she evokes. Is there anyone from the 40s and 50s who does not remember the special pot roast dinner, I wonder?I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys this genre and look forward to reading Lynda Cohen Loigman's next book. She impressed and entertained me in countless ways.