The Making of Us

I have read several of Lisa Jewell’s books in the past few months and enjoyed them, but i was shocked and dismayed to come across blatant antisemitic comments in “The Making of Us”. The comments were gratuitous and almost bizarre.

Early in the book, Lydia makes nasty comments about another client of her trainer, Bendiks, and goes out of her way to point out that the women is Jewish as she makes very derogatory comments about her. There is a further, less overtly antisemitic but still bizarre description of the first man Robyn has sex with, “Christian was his name. Jewish was his religion. Circumised was his penis. Quick was his coming.” It is completely unclear to me why the reader needs to know that her first unsatisfactory encounter was with a Jewish man, and why she needs to emphasize that he is uncircumcised. Is this supposed to detract from her pleasure?

I am shocked these comments got by her editors and don’t know what her deal is, but as a proud Jew who is concerned about the recent uptick of antisemitism, I won’t be buying any more of her books and I think she owes her readers (Jewish an not) an apology and explanation.

Lisa Jewell is an author that started reading a couple of years ago. I enjoyed her latest 2 books and felt it was time to dive into her back list. I’m not exactly sure where this falls in the order of her books, but I do think that Jewell is an author who improves with each books.

Which, I guess is a nice way of saying that this isn’t her best work. There is much I like about it, but I can’t say it was a wholly successful book.

There was much I liked about it. It was the premise that drew me into this book–a group of people who are brought together because their biological fathers were all the same sperm donor. For some reason, the maternal tie always seem to be celebrated in books (and movies…and TV…) while the paternal one is sometimes forgotten. Plus, the idea of a sperm donor seems so much less personal than, say, a mother who gave up her children for adoption or a woman who donated her eggs. I applaud Jewell for taking the road less traveled, so to say, on this topic.

One thing that has always impressed me about Jewell is her ability to create characters. Lydia is especially fascinating, probably because we get the most backstory for her. I also found the convention of telling Daniel’s story–Daniel is the father–through the eyes of another person. I think that was an important facet of this story and added a necessary wall between the siblings and the parent.

Now, here is the flaw that kept me from thoroughly enjoying this book. I’ll admit that this is something that might not bother other readers, but was an obstacle that I could not overcome. This story seemed very unbalanced. Much time was spent on Lydia and almost as much on Dean, but significantly less was spent on Robyn. In fact, there were times that I forgot she was even part of the story. There is also a 4th sibling who is dealt with a bit too casually for my taste and, as much as I enjoyed Daniel’s story through Maggie’s eyes, I felt Maggie’s arc was wrapped up too easily.

While this wasn’t Lisa Jewell’s best book in my opinion, it did keep my interest enough that I would still read more of her back list, as well as her new books as they are released. I would still recommend this book and I’m sure that what I found lacking would not bother many other readers.

Lisa Jewell caught my attention with

The House We Grew Up In: A Novel

. That book really intrigued me and prompted additional reading on hoarding disorder and is a book that has stayed with me long after I finished it. I didn’t realize this was one of her previous novels until I did some research, but it makes sense now that I know.

I won’t go into detail and spoil the book for you, and the product description does just enough to give you a general sense of the novel.

Here is my reaction after reading it: The book is a good read but not nearly as good as “The House We Grew Up In”. The characters are less developed, the writing not quite as crisp, but mostly the lighter chick-lit/romance roots of the author show through. There are gaps in the story that left me wondering why and how, particularly in Maggie’s storyline. Things are little too pat with little to mar the rosy outcome of the story and (my biggest complaint) deep emotions are felt immediately by everyone.

Bottom line: If you are looking for lighter reading but want some exposure to a story line not dependent on romance, this would be a great choice. If you what more substance in your next selection, I would pass on this one until in the right frame of mind. Would have been a great beach book, just not one that holds up against her later efforts.

There are too many books I want to read to bother with this book. I got over 10% through this and disliked the main characters, and found the tone of the book to be negative and dull. I moved on to another book.

I thought this was a really good book. Initially, I wasnt sure about the plot, but I was pleasantly surprised because this story was fascinating and incredibly heartfelt. The three main characters (Lydia, Dean and Robyn) are so wonderfully different and written so well you immediately care about them and understand their motivation for wanting to find their biological dad. The ending made me cry and smile at the same time. I highly recommend this book:)

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