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

Delightful book !

I just did the text version of this book for my book club and liked it so much I got it on audio, just for fun. Of course I served brownies and rugelach at the meeting. A lot of very lively discussion on addiction, responsibility and duty.
I only have one quibble and it's a small one. A lot of us found the attitudes towards Richard after the divorce to be anachronistic.
You may not love her characters but they are all fascinating.

Ended too soon

I heard this book reviewed on NPR and was happy to see that it was available on Audible. The NPR review mentioned Attenberg's unflinchingly honest character portrayals and that piqued my interest. During several of the first chapters, I wasn't sure if I really liked the book, or if I was easily delighted by the amazingly accurate portrayal of life on the North side of the Chicago metro area. I'm originally from there, and the detail the author paints on that setting is so realistic, I felt like I was home for the holidays.

But as I got to the end of the book, I can confirm that it was the story in its entirety that charmed me. To be sure, I was left wanting so much more. It felt like it ended too soon, I wanted to know so much more about the characters past and present. That is bad news for me, but a credit to the author. Speaking of credits, I usually download really long tomes to get my credit worth in Audible, so this was an usually short book for me.

Ringwald did a nice job narrating. She was a little bit stilted at times, but it did not interfere with my enjoyment of this book and the sound of her voice likely contributed to the overall nostalgia I experienced visiting Superdogs on Milwaukee, Wicker Park, and Polish nail salons in Skokie.

A Jewish Delight

Brilliant. The story of this family, particularly Edie’s story, was smartly rendered. The characters are deliciously flawed. The word “delicious” is intentional. I really appreciated how the author moved seamlessly back and forth through generations and how she empathized with peripheral characters, making them as real as the main characters. The early scenes of Edie as a child and Edie amongst her father’s immigrant friends, stayed with me throughout the entirety of the book. I kept seeing her on the stairwell, the spilled groceries, the rye bread. Everything about this book feels genuine and brave. I can’t wait to read Attenberg’s next book.

Simply fabulous

I didn't want this book to end. Such a fantastic portrayal of the complicated nature of intergenerational family relationships-- from denial, blame, addiction, aging, love, connection, obligation, and so much more. Heartbreakingly honest.

A Read not listen

Although I'm a huge audio fan, I wish I read this book instead of audio. If felt like someone was reading instead of getting lost in the story that was being told.

Great story - Narration leaves A LOT to be desired

Any additional comments?

Wonderful story but it was embarrassing to hear Molly Ringwald mispronounce the Jewish words (e.g. "meshugah, b'nai mitzvah, dayenu...") It took away from the book's authenticity. I am surprised the author, director and producer didn't consider those as necessary edits. Her tone was also very flat and I felt that it did a disservice to what was a great story.

Sad, Sad Story

This book made me very sad. The characters were so unhappy and bitter. I could identify with Edie's struggles. The Jewish people in the Chicago and Skokie areas are portrayed quite stereotypically. The reader, Ms. *Ringwood should have checked with a source familiar with Hebrew and Yiddish vocabulary. B'nai Mitzvah, was mispronounced every time she said it. It should have been pronounced B'' neigh, not B' nigh. She also goofed on several others.

Pleasantly Surprised

I didn't know much about this book prior to reading it. However I was pleasantly surprised. the characters were easy to relate to. This book made me appreciate my family all the more. ☺

Good writing

This well written book isn't for everyone. Not one character is likeable, but the writing is very good and kept me listening to the whole story. Molly Ringwald is an awful reader for this book. All of the Yiddish words, or Jewish expressions, were mispronounced. The rest of the reading was flat.

It's B'NAY Mitzvah, Molly. Right, Jami?

What disappointed you about The Middlesteins?

Mispronunciation after mispronunciation of words that were repeated and repeated (and repeated) made me wonder if anyone had even listened to the reading prior to its release. The flattest Jewy accent plunked in seemingly at random made me shudder. Made me shudder and wonder, that is, when I might have been listening to the story but was, alas, too distracted. I think it's not Molly's fault. Nobody told her, I suppose, and she must have figured she knew what she was doing. But it reminds me of this time a Seattle friend told me we had to go get some of this most yummy cookie thing called (phonetically) rhe-GUE-leh. When we got to the bakery it was just, you know, rugelach - pronounced with the short u and the "luh" at the end that just kind of trails off. Anyway.

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

See above. But the story was nice and I loved some of the digressions. I loved the way food tore the family and wove in and out of the narrative. I loved the relationship between the protagonist's suitor and cooking. And I loved the opening chapter, where we learned how love and food were rendered indistinguishable.

How could the performance have been better?

I think I've been clear.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I would like to have read it rather than listened to it. I think I may have really appreciated it. I did listen all the way through despite the narration. Thing is, when a author leans so heavily on integrating Yiddish and Hebrew into the text, the listener experience is just so embarrassing, like a terrible talk show interview, you want to look away.

Any additional comments?

Too bad.