The Middlesteins

A Novel

By: Jami Attenberg

Narrated by: Molly Ringwald

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

For more than 30 years, Edie and Richard Middlestein shared a solid family life together in the suburbs of Chicago. But now things are splintering apart, for one reason, it seems: Edie's enormous girth. She's obsessed with food - thinking about it, eating it - and if she doesn't stop, she won't have much longer to live.

When Richard abandons his wife, it is up to the next generation to take control. Robin, their schoolteacher daughter, is determined that her father pay for leaving Edie. Benny, an easy-going, pot-smoking family man, just wants to smooth things over. And Rachelle - a whippet thin perfectionist - is intent on saving her mother-in-law's life, but this task proves even bigger than planning her twin children's spectacular b'nai mitzvah party. Through it all, they wonder: do Edie's devastating choices rest on her shoulders alone? Or are others at fault, too?

With pitch-perfect prose, huge compassion, and sly humor, Jami Attenberg has given us an epic story of marriage, family, and obsession. The Middlesteins explores the hopes and heartbreaks of new and old love, the yearnings of Midwestern America, and our devastating, fascinating preoccupation with food.

©2012 Jami Attenberg (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Intriguing Experiment that Mostly Works

What about Molly Ringwald’s performance did you like?

She reads with a flat, understated tone that's pleasant but that seems to move slowly. I did start to remember every so often that this was "Molly Ringwald, the 1980s actress" -- and that got distracting -- but she was generally competent. (Although she could have used a coach to help her pronounce the occasional Yiddish word.)

Any additional comments?

I liked this one but didn't quite love it. Attenberg has a strong prose style, and it's got a distinct and pervasive feminine perspective; its unspoken understandings seem mostly to come from the way a woman (both the central characters and the author) see the world. It seems to me almost radical in the way it doesn't feel the need to translate for a man's sensibility.All that's really good, I think, but the plotting seemed to me a bit forced in places. That is, the story seemed to stall every once in a while, and it took something to move it forward or, once or twice worse, I lost interest in a section that seemed to me to have stalled.

I just wanted more

Any additional comments?

I was so excited about this book, reading the pre-publication praise and summaries. However, once I finished it, I was left wanting more, specifically more insight into the characters. I thought the brief explanation of Edie's childhood where her mom fed her to comfort her was too facile and reductionist as an explanation for her later obesity. It didn't do justice to her as a character to reduce her complete self-destruction through food in that way. She was the most interesting and engaging part of the book, but, like the other charaters, not very well developed. I felt the promise of the book (a comprehensive portrait of a family) was not fullfilled. It was more like a sketch of a family.

Great story

Loved the narration too. A wonderful family drama. Well paced. I highly recommend this audio book.

Started out Interesting, but a Flat Story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The story was just okay. I kept waiting for the really interesting part to come along and it just never did. The story is all centered around one person, but you never hear her side. You never hear her internal struggle or how she feels about all the other problems in her family. Also, everyone is so fixated on Edie that they don't see the massive problems in their own lives.

Would you recommend The Middlesteins to your friends? Why or why not?

No, I feel like the story is a bit flat. The book leaves you wanting more of an explanation and less of a running news story of the comings and goings of the rest of the family.
I feel like there are many other books that are better stories about family struggles.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Molly Ringwald?

Debra Messing- she could have certainly done a better job at pronouncing the Yiddish sayings and terms. I just didn't like Molly Ringwald's performance. The only part I thought she really pulled off was the pissy teenager personality of Emily.

Do you think The Middlesteins needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I think the original book needed more wrap up. I felt like I was taken through bits of their lives at ninety miles per hour and then just wham! The book just ended, nothing was tied up at all. Maybe the author wanted the reader to decide what happens next.

Enjoyable but not great

I expected a lot more from this book since it got a lot of attention when it was released, but it was an enjoyable listen. Molly Ringwald does an OK job with the narration. Overall, it was a solid 3.5 stars for me.

Middle of the Road-Steins

Not a Jewish American literary masterpiece like Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth nor does it contain the wit of Jewish comedic geniuses such as Woody Allen or Seinfeld, but a still, a good listen. I was moved by the realistic characters in the audio with all their flaws and imperfections. Each character is lovable perhaps because each could rise above their individual condition of being imperfect. I didn’t find this audiobook funny. It’s depressing. I chuckled but barely a few times throughout. So if you are looking for a good laugh, laugh elsewhere. I wouldn’t pass it up though. If you’re a Jewish woman as I am you’ll relate. If addiction runs rampant in your family you will relate. If you’ve witnessed or experienced betrayal or its opposite, loyalty and love, you will relate.

Okay

This "listen" was okay, neither great nor memorable. I don't think the writing style was so great for an audio and I may have liked reading it better.

I felt I was a Family Member!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This could have been my family. Food Food Food! The funeral scene was priceless. We had a relative who would eat all the corned beef. We had to hide it so there would be some for others. Only problem was she was the first to come and the last to leave!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Middlesteins?

When the Chinese chef was preparing dinner for Eddie. He was so tender and sweet.

What about Molly Ringwald’s performance did you like?

I really enjoyed Ringwald's reading.

Any additional comments?

My mother was not as obsessive about food as Eddie, but she too was tall and went to law school. She became obese until cancer killed her.

Just a little too short, but quite engrossing!

Another dysfunctional family saga, but this one is very cleverly written and even though none of the characters are particularly likable, they are all quite human and the author shows great sympathy for their struggles.

The Middlesteins is aptly named: they are middle America, middle class, and suffering from every average American angst you can think of. The Jewish aspect is well-played and not overdone. The comedy parts are not done broadly--they are just funny. It would be a good movie, I think. It is a character based novel and the characters are complex and the author writes with pathos about them.

The reader is excellent. My only complaint is that I felt the book could have been longer. It is sort of like a short version of a book by Jonathan Franzen. We could have understood these people more if she had another hundred pages about them.

Edie: Rhymes with Eatie

I am giving this book a "3" because it is so readable and relatable. However, I must say that I found myself aligning with Richard, the anti-hero in this match-up. Or not? Yes, Edie is sadly victimized, but her corpulent prison and resultant dysfunction are of her own making, and could have been fixed with some good therapy or 12-Step, Weight Watcher's, or gastric bypass, which (sigh) was not even mentioned.

Yes, I can suspend disbelief, even tolerate the retrograde technology which precluded giving a nod to bariatric surgery. It did bother me, though, but I know that with successful gastric bypass there would not even be a story. Or at least not such a polarized one anyway. Edie could have had the surgery but failed in adjusting her eating habits to accommodate and thus her issues would have persisted and she would have continued to drive Richard terminally nuts. But the surgery would have surely fixed her diabetes.

Doesn't matter, there were some terrific story lines and some excellent dialogue, so why complain, and why should it even matter that the book is just not at the depth of a Franzen ("The Corrections") or a Tropper ("One Last Thing Before I Go")? I use audiobooks to a large extent for multitasking, and some of the gentler ones as sleep aids and for me this book sufficed nicely.