Review: Fabulous Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 8, 2012
When President Kennedy is assassinated, people across the United States were shocked. This is no different for the Perl family in Long Island. Spanning from the 1960's to 2011, this book tells the story of the Perl family. Nathan, the father, and his second wife Lillian are parents to 5 children. Jackie is a law student with a penchant for gambling and drinking. Mickey is the businessman, always looking for a way to make money. Elaine is in school becoming a teacher. Stephen feels like he doesn't fit in with his family and most of the world around him. Roberta is the rebellious one, more interested in experimenting with things than anything else. Through the years this clan will go through numerous changes in their family and the world around them. As time passes, they will all learn what being a family truly means.This book is able to draw you in immediately with the use of a major historical event like the assassination of President Kennedy. You get a good feel for the characters by their reactions to that one event. This carries on through the years. Sometimes you get to see their reactions to major parts of history, but other times you get to see them deal with the everyday parts of life that we all have to deal with. Many of the Perls really struggle with finding their place in this world (or at least the place that brings them the most happiness). Bobbie had probably the most "stereotypical" experience of what you expect from that era- she loves drugs, rock and roll, and her freedom. I found Elaine's story to be the easiest to relate to in some ways. She really struggles with being expected to just be a wife and mom.Sometimes I felt the sheer number of characters to be a bit hard to keep up with, but I am also horrible with remembering names. One thing this book really reminded me was how much things have changed in such a short amount of time. I found a beautiful sense of family with the Perls. They don't always agree, and they certainly weren't perfect. However, they really did take care of each other. The ending brought things full circle in an amazing way. I also appreciated that the family participated in history in very normal ways. The family wasn't just thrown into events in dubious manners. Overall, I was really just touched by this story. The Perls really could represent almost any American family. This book will make you laugh and maybe even cry, and in the end you will really feel a great sense of inclusion in and love for this great fabric of people that make this world a wonderful place to live.Galley provided for review.