When Rupert Falkes, wealthy New York lawyer, dies, it leaves
his family a bit at loose ends. His five sons- all middle aged men successful in
their own fields- define themselves very strongly by their family
relationships. Widow Eleanor reacts with calmness and proceeds to redecorate
their home, which further upsets the boys- they take it as seeing every trace
of their father vanish. Everyone is dealing with their loss, though, until yet
another upsetting thing occurs: a woman contacts the estate, saying she has two
sons by Rupert, and that they deserve a cut of the money- of which there is
plenty. Suddenly, Rupert becomes a man they never really knew. Worse, Eleanor
reacts calmly, which makes the boys think she knew about the other family all
along and didn’t tell them. Rupert is beyond their reach, so they aim their
anger at their mother.
The story twines between characters and through time, taking
us through the lives and loves of not just Rupert and Eleanor, but of their
sons, too. While Rupert and Eleanor seemed to their sons, to glide through life
without a slip, there was a lot they never saw going on. All their lives turn
out to be much more complex and, well, screwed up, than appears on the surface.
These are people of old Eastern seaboard money (well, Rupert is not, having
come to America as an orphan from England) and while money is not worried
about, appearances are.
None of these people are totally bad (well, maybe the woman
who says her sons are Rupert’s), so it was easy to read about them. Even the
ones who did wretched things have good sides. I came to really like Eleanor,
the calm center of the novel and of the family. The writing I found lovely; I
could not put this novel down as something new was always turning up. In the
end, we do not ever get the answer we (and the boys) want- but that’s okay. The
journey itself is what’s important.
The above is an affiliate link. If you click through and buy something- anythin g- from Amazon, they will give me a few cents.
I received this book free in return for an unbiased review.
Neither of these things influenced my review.
Family dynamics like this usually provide some good reading for me.
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