The Latecomer
Ratings19
Average rating4.4
15
Ratings19
Average rating4.4
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Latecomer is a layered and immersive literary novel about three siblings, desperate to escape one another, and the upending of their family by the late arrival of a fourth. The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents Salo and Johanna, under tragic circumstances, to their triplets born during the early days of IVF. As children, the three siblings – Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally – feel no strong familial bond and cannot wait to go their separate ways, even as their father becomes more distanced and their mother more desperate. When the triplets leave for college, Johanna, faced with being truly alone, makes the decision to have a fourth child. What role will the “latecomer” play in this fractured family? A complex novel that builds slowly and deliberately, The Latecomer touches on the topics of grief and guilt, generational trauma, privilege and race, traditions and religion, and family dynamics. It is a profound and witty family story from an accomplished author, known for the depth of her character studies, expertly woven storylines, and plot twists.
Reviews with the most likes.
I loved this book so much more than I expected. The writing and storytelling swept me away and made it hard to put the book down. There’s a change of pace and tone in part 3 than felt a bit jarring at first, but gave way to a touching (if perhaps slightly too convenient) end
This book was really slow. Too slow in some places. The writing really wasn't cohesive or interesting.
I hate to say it put me to sleep 3 nights running.
I found the character building to be tiresome and one dimensional.
It sounded so great but it really barely held my interest. I did finish it and while I can appreciate that the author has talent, the book missed every mark for me.
2 stars
DNF
Holy word count and descriptions. WHEW! Maybe I am not in the right mindset for this one. I picked it up and kept putting it back down. It was a struggle and a chore to wade through all the small font and overly wordy writing.
This is already a good sized book, which doesn't deter me, but with the tiny font it's probably more of an 800pg book. That being said, the tiresome and lengthy descriptions make for less than enjoyable reading.
I usually enjoy a good family drama in between my other reads and I was excited for this one. If this is on your radar, I would check the reviews and see if your interest is still peaked after. There are a lot of readers loving this one, but sadly it's just not for me.
I sincerely appreciate Celadon Books for providing me with a review copy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
I got about 75% into this book and then, unfortunately, had to put it down. It just hit a little close to home for me and was causing some mental health issues that I didn't care to push through.
However, I think the writing is superb. And that's why I tried so hard to push through. It's pretty obvious what the book is about from the blurb, so if you don't think it will be triggering for you, I highly recommend reading.
The dynamics of this family are very intricately explained.. you are inside their head. Because of that, it's a telling vs. showing type story, but in this case it works. It moved very quickly at the beginning. You get an in-depth look at a situation, then everything would skip ahead. So you're getting a snapshot of their lives with examples, I guess you could say. When you get to the college years, things slow down a little. I felt like the pacing was slightly off there. Their entire childhood is covered in the first 100-150 pages, then the story stays in their college until around page 300. But that ends with a bang and is worth hanging on if the college years bog you down.
A note: It's written in third person, and there are some jarring uses of the word “our” that threw me for a loop. But I had faith that the author was being purposeful with that... and I was right. So if this type of thing would bother you too, it's also worth hanging on through.
