Published by Lee Boudreaux Books
Publication date: March 15th 2016
Sisters Ada, Vivie, and Bec inherited their family’s cabin on the Connecticut shore and now they convene every summer, staying with their children during the week while their husbands drive up on Friday in time for Shabbos. In As Close to Us as Breathing author Elizabeth Poliner freezes, with the clarity of amber, a very specific time and place and within that the lives of a family. That she opens the novel with the sentence “The summer of 1948 my brother Davy was killed in an accident…” might make everything that follows seem anti-climactic but this is not the case. Instead, we join Molly, her older brother Howard, her cousin Nina and the rest of their family in their last summer together. As Close to Us as Breathing moves back and forward from there, reconnecting with Molly in 1998 when most of the rest of the family is gone. Using Molly’s memories and the voices of other family members Poliner brings insight to that terrible summer and its aftermath.
The Leibritskys are a traditional Jewish family, close-knit and devout, with the summers seen as a break from routine and with small freedoms not found in their everyday life. It is the details of each of the characters, from Mort’s stopping for a hot dog every Friday on his way to the cabin to Howard’s secret Irish girlfriend, Ada’s temper, Bec’s affair, and Nina’s frustration at her cousin’s incessant teasing, that crystalizes into an accident for which they all feel responsible. It is no secret that the death of Davy irrevocably changes everyone forever, but it is what comes before that makes As Close to Us as Breathing such a poignant slice-of-life. This is not a novel packed with action despite the death of a little boy. Rather it is a gently paced character study about the bonds of family and religion and how, when tested, those bonds may not be enough.
This sounds like it’s in my wheelhouse. I love character/family studies for the most part, especially when change is forced upon the actors. Thanks, Catherine!
Wow. This sounds like a good one and right in my wheelhouse! Onto the TBR listing it went! 🙂
I’ve noticed the cover art – split into three like that – has been a popular thing more recently. I do like stories that start with a shocker and you wonder what the heck you’re going to find from there.
Hmm, I’ve been seeing this one around quite a bit, Catherine, and now your thoughts have me thinking seriously about adding this one to my list. I’m a little concerned whether it will be too slow to hold my attention, but I’m definitely curious about the religious aspect of this one and the characters sound great. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
It is an odd blend of slow and fast- their days at the beach are quiet but the time changes happen quickly. It works well in that way.
I hadn’t heard of this, but it sounds right up my alley!
I’ve really been anticipating this one, but I’ve seen a few scathing reviews about it, lately. I think I still want to read it, thought. I’m just really enticed by that synopsis.
I haven’t seen any scathing but definitely a fair amount of meh- which I can’t argue with. You have to be in the mood for a slower pace/character study kind of thing.
Hmm…I’d sort of written this one off, but your review is making me kind of interested again. D*mn you!
It’s good not great and I think your trouble with it was the pace, right? If so, I can’t argue. It’s…stately.
I love opening sentences like that one. I remember the first sentence of Gaiman’s ‘Coraline’ — “Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house.”