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

A Slice of Life

Having struggled with weight and also being Jewish, allowed me to really identify with the book. I too remember the Weight Watcher "tips" like removing the center piece of bread from a Big Mac to save calories. I too have been to many Bar/Bar Mitzvah's where the elaborate affair overshadowed what the Bar Mitzvah ceremony was all about. I too know of many dysfunctional families, as a matter of fact, I don't know too many who aren't. With all this identifying, I still couldn't really make a connection to the characters in Attenberg's book. The closest I came was to the protagonist Edie, the one who was eating herself to death. But Edie is an extreme case. Even being diabetic, having to go through surgery after surgery, having her husband Richard leave her, having her children and grandchildren look at her with pity and repulsion, did not deter Edie from even one dish of Chinese food. Edie had an addiction and she just couldn't stop. At times I felt a little nauseous "watching" her eat. There was a moral to the story though, you can't help someone who doesn't want to to be helped. Even though the book hit a nerve, I didn't love the black comedy, I barely liked it.
Molly Ringwald did an average narration, maybe if I had read this one instead of listening I would have liked it better.

I didn't love it, but I couldn't stop listening

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

This book was good. It wasn't great. The story was interesting and entertaining, but never went deep enough. Perhaps that's the point--maybe there's no "there" there with the Middlestein family. They tend to live on the surface, and that's exactly where this narrative stays.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jami Attenberg? Why or why not?

Yes, I liked Attenberg's use of modern America's fixations to tell her story--she references iPods, The Black Eyed Peas, So You Think You Can Dance, etc. without sounding frivolous. I would hope she goes more in depth with the characters of her other works.

How could the performance have been better?

Yes. I'm a fan of Molly Ringwald's 80s movie career, but her narration left a lot to be desired. The accents she does are cringe-worthy at times.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes. This book would actually make a good film. I bet it's being optioned as we speak.

Real Life

It's kind of like when Jerry's guitar would scream in agony followed by his own eerie moan, "Death don't have no mercy in this land. Come to your house and it don't take long. Wake up one morning and everybody be gone." We all pretend in public that everything is okay, rarely mentioning outside of family circles the trauma, insanity, depravity, and disease. It was refreshing to read a realistic novel about the nuances that make up this life, whatever this may be.

Quick and Enjoyable

I don't really have a lot to say about this one. The narration was great. The story was a little sad and very touching. I'm glad I listened to it, but I don't think it will stick with me for a long time.

Beautiful, true depiction of humanity

Jami Attenberg is one of the most sincere voices in literature today, and with Molly Ringwald performing her words? (Presses fingers to lips, making kissy sound) Perfection!

nothing new, mildly irritating

just another story about...
angry kids of divorce.
an overweight, overbearing wife.
a slender-ish, unfavored dad
Mechanical Judaism as identity.
"you're killing yourself!"
moody teenage girls.
"can I love again????"

overall, not the worst thing I've read, but it's really not for me.

I expected a lot & got little

The review says "pitch perfect prose, huge compassion & sly humor" - I did not find these qualities in the book and found it largely depressing but for a moment or two of compassion ... forget about humor; sly or otherwise

Listening without chapter headings

It was so hard to listen to this book. Chapters dissolved into other chapters without acknowledgment. It was so hard to listen to. I loved Molly reading it, but next time include chapter headings for a better listening experience.

Oy vey! This book was awful!

I absolutely hated this book. It was one of the worst books I have ever listened to. I did not connect with any of the characters, and I was completely uninvested in their stories. I seriously could not wait for the book to end. What infuriated me most was that I chose to listen to this book through Audible rather than read it, and Molly Ringwald was beyond unprepared to narrate it. Ms. Ringwald mispronounced almost every one of the Jewish/ethnic words that were scattered throughout the entire book. It was unnerving that she cared so little about the authenticity of her performance, and shame on Audible for allowing such a sub-par narration to be finalized. Ms. Ringwald's pronunciation errors pulled me out of the story line rather than enhance it. I am so ready to move on to my next read. It has to be better than this.

Read this if you like feeling depressed

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

Molly Ringwald read in a flat tone that reflected the flatness of the characters and of the story. The director did not tell Ms. Ringwald how to pronounce the Yiddish and Hebrew words correctly - and this was a book about Chicago Jews!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

This book was the "Debbie Downer" (if you remember this skit on "Saturday Night Live") of books. The characters were depressing and there was no humor. The entire book was just character sketches. The point of view shifted from one character to another and the author gave back story for each, which halted any forward momentum and prevented this reader from becoming invested in the characters because we were often told what had happened to them rather than being a part of the action. Even the first hand action that did occur was meandering, with no clear goal for the story and no ramping up of tension. It was just a story about depressing people with depressing lives. To me, that's not a story.

It was like paying for a ticket for a scenic train ride through rolling hills and getting a ride on a slow train in an underground subway with banal signs inside the cabin and rare glimpses of the various characters painted on the tunnel walls that pass by you too quickly.