[Blum] stumbles in a thicket of useless info and proper names, the sinkhole of so much popular fiction. Every clothing designer is tediously identified. A character cannot eat a cookie; it has to be a Mint Milano.... MapQuest, it should be noted, does not make for compelling reading.
As she demonstrated in her two previous novels... Blum is an ambitious writer who likes to tackle serious subjects, as she does [in The Lost Family]. While there are parts of the book that are undeniably compelling, stumbles in execution prevent this new work from really taking off and soaring.
Readers are granted rich descriptions of decadent foods and New York nightlife through the ages, alongside brutal descriptions of self-sabotage... [Blum] takes on the difficult task of rendering generational trauma visible, and does it with such humor and empathy, you can’t help but be swept along for the ride.
Blum dramatizes the lingering effects of the war through the intertwining stories of families past and present, personalizing the themes of survivor guilt and shame but also injecting surprising glimpses of humor and hope. Each unforgettable character in this deeply moving novel brings new meaning to the familiar phrase 'never forget.'
The writing, evocative yet unassuming, conveys the interiority of the characters, even the minor ones, elevating them beyond the stereotypical ... An unsentimental, richly detailed study of loss and its legacy.
