Overview

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A kaleidoscopic portrait of a modern American family—steadfast, complicated, begrudging, and loving—from the bestselling author of Isola “Wise, witty . . . a deliciously readable book [about] the delicate minutiae of family life, played beautifully, boldly, brightly in a major key.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice) “Goodman’s mature and deftly written book suggests that, in family as in art, there is no such thing as uncomplicated happiness.”—The Wall Street Journal Was this just a brief skirmish, or the beginning of a thirty-year feud? In the Rubinstein family, it could go either way. When their beloved sister passes away, Sylvia and Helen Rubinstein are unmoored. A misunderstanding about apple cake turns into a decade of stubborn silence. Busy with their own lives—divorces, dating, career setbacks, college applications, bat mitzvahs and ballet recitals—their children do not want to get involved. As for their grandchildren? Impossible. With This Is Not About Us, master storyteller Allegra Goodman—whose prior collection was heralded as “one of the most astute and engaging books about American family life” (The Boston Globe)—returns to the form and subject that endeared her to legions of readers. Sharply observed and laced with humor, This Is Not About Us is a story of growing up and growing old, the weight of parental expectations, and the complex connection between sisters—a big-hearted book about the love that binds a family across generations.

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Reviews

Praise for the work of Allegra Goodman “Full of wit and spark . . . Irresistible and arresting.”—The New York Times Book Review “Goodman’s nimble language, usually displayed in her characters’ sharp readings of one another, is one of the great pleasures of her writing. The other is her ability to integrate serious metaphysical questions into her entertaining comedies of manners.”—Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air “I can't think of anyone else who manages that precarious tone so well, balanced with Zenlike tranquillity between genuine mirth and heartfelt despair. She describes modern life . . . without a drop of bitterness. . . . Goodman is a fantastically fluid writer, and yet for all her skill, she’s a humble, transparent one who stays out of the way, never drawing attention to her style or cleverness.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post “Every character . . . is endowed by their creator with the fullest complements of flaws, tics, vices, strengths, virtues and moments of nobility. . . . Goodman presides over her universe with a light and sometimes funny touch.”—Geraldine Brooks, The Washington Post “Like a modern-day Jane Austen, Goodman is a splendid observer of personalities, their interactions and hidden doubts. Her special gift is examining human nature, its weaknesses and its strengths, through a narrow lens.”—USA Today “These characters and the situations they find themselves in are so authentic and familiar, we respond to them as though they are family. They get under our skin, make us roll our eyes, get us snorting with laughter and recognition.”—The Boston Globe “Allegra Goodman is brilliant, funny, knowing, alive: a marvel.”—Cynthia Ozick

Praise for This Is Not About Us “Goodman delivers a bighearted linked story collection about a family’s travails. . . . Each story succeeds on its own; taken together, they reveal how a family’s bonds are shaped and tested by tradition as well as by each individual’s recurring patterns. In their messiness and constant striving for harmony, the Rubensteins are wholly relatable. This is one to treasure.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review “A beautiful story of generations of a complicated family.”—Town & Country “Goodman offers an unsparingly frank, wryly funny take on a multigenerational American family. Almost exactly one year after the publication of Goodman’s wonderful work of historical fiction, Isola, the author returns with a very different novel—yet one that is no less insightful, enthralling, and eminently enjoyable to read. . . . Like an exquisitely baked apple cake, Goodman’s delicious and deeply perceptive novel is something to savor.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Goodman overlaps characters and storylines, repeatedly, from different perspectives and the reader is treated to experiencing the family as a symphony, not necessarily a harmonious arrangement, but satisfying all the same as an excellent read.”—Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews “The always-transporting Goodman follows her bravura historical novel, Isola . . . with a return to her novelist’s roots in a family saga seasoned with mirth and marveling over human perversity . . . each character comes into focus as a shrewd confection of dreams and self-sabotage, each scene is radiant with warmth and insight, and the dialogue and inner monologues are crisp, funny, and poignant . . . Astute, incisive, and soulfully witty, Goodman circulates among her irresistible characters to that each intriguing point of view reveals another facet of their tumultuous family dynamic.”—Booklist, starred review Praise for the work of Allegra Goodman “Full of wit and spark . . . Irresistible and arresting.”—The New York Times Book Review “These characters and the situations they find themselves in are so authentic and familiar, we respond to them as though they are family. They get under our skin, make us roll our eyes, get us snorting with laughter and recognition.”—The Boston Globe

Praise for This Is Not About Us “Goodman delivers a bighearted linked story collection about a family’s travails . . . Each story succeeds on its own; taken together, they reveal how a family’s bonds are shaped and tested by tradition as well as by each individual’s recurring patterns. In their messiness and constant striving for harmony, the Rubensteins are wholly relatable. This is one to treasure.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review “A beautiful story of generations of a complicated family.”—Town & Country “Goodman offers an unsparingly frank, wryly funny take on a multigenerational American family. Almost exactly one year after the publication of Goodman’s wonderful work of historical fiction, Isola, the author returns with a very different novel—yet one that is no less insightful, enthralling, and eminently enjoyable to read. . . . Like an exquisitely baked apple cake, Goodman’s delicious and deeply perceptive novel is something to savor.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Goodman overlaps characters and storylines, repeatedly, from different perspectives and the reader is treated to experiencing the family as a symphony, not necessarily a harmonious arrangement, but satisfying all the same as an excellent read.”—Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews Praise for the work of Allegra Goodman “Full of wit and spark . . . Irresistible and arresting.”—The New York Times Book Review “I can't think of anyone else who manages that precarious tone so well, balanced with Zenlike tranquillity between genuine mirth and heartfelt despair. She describes modern life . . . without a drop of bitterness. . . . Goodman is a fantastically fluid writer, and yet for all her skill, she’s a humble, transparent one who stays out of the way, never drawing attention to her style or cleverness.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post “These characters and the situations they find themselves in are so authentic and familiar, we respond to them as though they are family. They get under our skin, make us roll our eyes, get us snorting with laughter and recognition.”—The Boston Globe

Praise for This Is Not About Us “Goodman offers an unsparingly frank, wryly funny take on a multigenerational American family. Almost exactly one year after the publication of Goodman’s wonderful work of historical fiction, Isola, the author returns with a very different novel—yet one that is no less insightful, enthralling, and eminently enjoyable to read . . . This Is Not About Us could have been called This Is All About Us or, perhaps, This Is About All of Us. Like an exquisitely baked apple cake, Goodman’s delicious and deeply perceptive novel is something to savor.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Goodman overlaps characters and storylines, repeatedly, from different perspectives and the reader is treated to experiencing the family as a symphony, not necessarily a harmonious arrangement, but satisfying all the same as an excellent read.”—Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews Praise for the work of Allegra Goodman “Full of wit and spark . . . Irresistible and arresting.”—The New York Times Book Review “I can't think of anyone else who manages that precarious tone so well, balanced with Zenlike tranquillity between genuine mirth and heartfelt despair. She describes modern life . . . without a drop of bitterness. . . . Goodman is a fantastically fluid writer, and yet for all her skill, she’s a humble, transparent one who stays out of the way, never drawing attention to her style or cleverness.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post “Every character . . . is endowed by their creator with the fullest complements of flaws, tics, vices, strengths, virtues and moments of nobility. . . . Goodman presides over her universe with a light and sometimes funny touch.”—Geraldine Brooks, The Washington Post “These characters and the situations they find themselves in are so authentic and familiar, we respond to them as though they are family. They get under our skin, make us roll our eyes, get us snorting with laughter and recognition.”—The Boston Globe

Praise for This Is Not About Us “Goodman delivers a bighearted linked story collection about a family’s travails. . . . Each story succeeds on its own; taken together, they reveal how a family’s bonds are shaped and tested by tradition as well as by each individual’s recurring patterns. In their messiness and constant striving for harmony, the Rubensteins are wholly relatable. This is one to treasure.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review “A beautiful story of generations of a complicated family.”—Town & Country “Goodman offers an unsparingly frank, wryly funny take on a multigenerational American family. Almost exactly one year after the publication of Goodman’s wonderful work of historical fiction, Isola, the author returns with a very different novel—yet one that is no less insightful, enthralling, and eminently enjoyable to read. . . . Like an exquisitely baked apple cake, Goodman’s delicious and deeply perceptive novel is something to savor.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Goodman overlaps characters and storylines, repeatedly, from different perspectives and the reader is treated to experiencing the family as a symphony, not necessarily a harmonious arrangement, but satisfying all the same as an excellent read.”—Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews Praise for the work of Allegra Goodman “Full of wit and spark . . . Irresistible and arresting.”—The New York Times Book Review “I can't think of anyone else who manages that precarious tone so well, balanced with Zenlike tranquillity between genuine mirth and heartfelt despair. She describes modern life . . . without a drop of bitterness. . . . Goodman is a fantastically fluid writer, and yet for all her skill, she’s a humble, transparent one who stays out of the way, never drawing attention to her style or cleverness.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post “These characters and the situations they find themselves in are so authentic and familiar, we respond to them as though they are family. They get under our skin, make us roll our eyes, get us snorting with laughter and recognition.”—The Boston Globe

Author Information

Allegra Goodman is the author of seven novels, including the national bestseller Isola, which was a Reese’s Book Club pick; two short story collections; and a novel for young readers. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere, and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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