Sunday, June 9, 2019

The Floating Feldmans by Elyssa Friedland

A special thank you to Penguin First to Read for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The matriarch of the family Annette Feldman decides she wants to do something for her milestone 70th birthday, so she organizes a cruise for her family.

But between sibling rivalries that keep rearing their ugly head, family secrets, and her teenage grandkids, Annette’s birthday vacation is looking like it is going to capsize. Sailing on the open seas, the Feldmans are forced to face the truths they’ve been ignoring all while learning that the people they once thought most likely to sink them are actually the ones who help them stay afloat.

I thought that the ship was an interesting vehicle for the story because it forced all of the characters to not only be in the same vicinity as one another, but it really pushed some of the family dynamics front and centre and created some interesting situations.

The exposition and build up were painfully long. Once Friedland's cast is finally assembled, I expected more by way of confrontations and satire. She did redeem herself with the ending, readers will be satisfied as they disembark.

All-in-all a fun read that's perfect for summer, or cruising. Told from multiple points of view, The Floating Feldmans really brings out the fun in dysfunctional.

ELYSSA FRIEDLAND attended Yale University, where she served as managing editor of the Yale Daily News. She is a graduate of Columbia Law School and subsequently worked as an associate at a major firm. Recently, she has written for The Washington Post, McSweeney’s, POPSUGAR, RealSimple.com and Bustle.

Elyssa grew up in New Jersey and currently lives in New York City with her husband and three young children. 

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