Kaaterskill Falls

Jacket Description/Back: It is 1976. And the tiny upstate New York town of Kaaterskill Falls is bustling with summer people in dark coats, fedoras, and long, modest dresses. Living side by side with Yankee year-rounders, they are the disciples of Rav Elijah Kirshner. Elizabeth Shulman is a restless wife and mother of five daughters; her imagination transcends her cloistered community. Across the street Andras Melish is drawn to Kaaterskill by his adoring older sisters. Comforted, yet crippled by his sisters' love, he cannot overcome the ambivalence he feels toward his own children and his young wife. At the top of the hill, Rav Kirshner is nearing the end of his life. As he struggles to decide which of his sons should succeed him -- the pious but stolid Isaiah or the brilliant but rebellious Jeremy -- his followers wrestle with their future and their past. With this community, Allegra Goodman weaves magic. The national bestselling author of The Family Markowitz crafts a tale of family and tradition -- one that confirms this young author's place as a virtuoso of her generation. Jacket Description/Flap: In the summer of '76, the Shulmans and the Melishes migrate to Kaaterskill, the tiny town in upstate New York where Orthodox Jews and Yankee year-rounders live side by side from June through August. Elizabeth Shulman, a devout follower of Rav Elijah Kirshner and the mother of five daughters, is restless. She needs a project of her own, outside her family and her cloistered community. Across the street, Andras Melish is drawn to Kaaterskill by his adoring older sisters, bound to him by their loss and wrenching escape from the Holocaust. Both comforted and crippled by his sisters' love, Andras cannot overcome the ambivalence he feels toward his children and his own beautiful wife. At the top of the hill, Rav Kirshner is coming to the end of his life, and he struggles to decide which of his sons should succeed him: the pious but stolid Isaiah, or the brilliant but worldly Jeremy. Behind the scenes, alarmed as his beloved Kaaterskill is overdeveloped by Michael King, the local real estate broker, Judge Miles Taylor keeps an old secret in check, biding his time.... Review Quotes: Praise for Allegra Goodman: "The brushstrokes seemingly casual yet sure, always the exact--and unlikely--equivalent of a shadow or reflected gleam."--Anna Shapiro, New York "Newsday" "An astonishing display of virtuosity."--"Los Angeles Times" on Total Immersion "Exceptionally well written: funny, wise, keenly observed.... One of the most maddening and recognizable families to come along in years...an enchanting book."--Michiko Kakutani in "The New York Times" on "The Family Markowitz" "From the Hardcover edition."Review Quotes: Praise for Allegra Goodman: " The brushstrokes seemingly casual yet sure, always the exact-- and unlikely-- equivalent of a shadow or reflected gleam." -- Anna Shapiro, New York "Newsday" " An astonishing display of virtuosity." -- "Los Angeles Times" on Total Immersion " Exceptionally well written: funny, wise, keenly observed.... One of the most maddening and recognizable families to come along in years...an enchanting book." -- Michiko Kakutani in "The New York Times" on "The Family Markowitz" "From the Hardcover edition."Biographical Note: Allegra Goodman's work has appeared in "The New Yorker, Allure, Food and Wine, Vogue, Commentary, " and "Slate." She is the recipient of a Whiting Award, and the "Salon Magazine" award for fiction. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is at work on a second novel. Review Quotes: Praise for Allegra Goodman: "The brushstrokes seemingly casual yet sure, always the exact--and unlikely--equivalent of a shadow or reflected gleam."--Anna Shapiro, New York "Newsday""An astonishing display of virtuosity."--"Los Angeles Times" on Total Immersion"Exceptionally well written: funny, wise, keenly observed.... One of the most maddening and recognizable families to come along in years...an enchanting book."--Michiko Kakutani in "The New York Times" on "The Family Markowitz""From the Hardcover edition."Marc Notes: Reprinted by arrangement with The Dial Press--T.p. verso.; A Delta book--T.p. verso. Review Citations:

New York Times 08/22/1999 pg. 28 (EAN 9780385323901, Paperback)

Entertainment Weekly 09/03/1999 pg. 63 (EAN 9780385323901, Paperback)

Publishers Weekly Best Books 01/01/1998 pg. 40 (EAN 9780385323901, Paperback)

New York Times 12/05/1999 pg. 105 (EAN 9780385323901, Paperback)

Publishers Weekly Best Books 01/01/1998 pg. 40 (EAN 9780786218639, Hardcover)

Library Journal Prepub Alert 04/01/1998 pg. 68 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover)

Publishers Weekly 05/25/1998 pg. 62 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Kirkus Reviews 06/01/1998 pg. 758 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover)

Library Journal 06/15/1998 pg. 105 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Booklist 07/01/1998 pg. 1856 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover)

New York Times 08/30/1998 pg. 13 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover)

Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/1998 pg. 33 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover)

NY Times Notable Bks of Year 01/01/1999 pg. 68 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover)

Publishers Weekly Best Books 01/01/1998 pg. 40 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover)

Publishers Weekly 05/26/1998 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover)

Library Journal 03/15/1999 (EAN 9780385323895, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Goodman, Allegra Allegra Goodman's first collection, "Total Immersion", was published in 1989. Her work has appeared in "The New Yorker" and "Commentary", and has been selected for "Prize Stories 1995", "The 0. Henry Awards", and other anthologies. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Massachusetts.