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Judith Frank is a professor of English at Amherst College. She was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, has held residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell, and is the author of a previous novel, Crybaby Butch.
All I Love and Know
by Judith Frank
eBook
$8.74
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ISBN-13:
9780062302885
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date: 07/15/2014
- Sold by: HARPERCOLLINS
- Format: eBook
- Pages: 448
- Sales rank: 371,307
- File size: 796 KB
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With the storytelling power of Wally Lamb and the emotional fidelity of Lorrie Moore, this is the searing drama of an American family on the brink of dissolution, one that explores adoption, gay marriage, and true love lost and found
For years, Matthew Greene and Daniel Rosen have enjoyed a contented domestic life in Northampton, Massachusetts. Opposites in many ways, they have grown together and made their relationship work. But when they learn that Daniel's twin brother and sister-in-law have been killed in a Jerusalem bombing, their lives are suddenly, utterly transformed.
The deceased couple have left behind two young children, and their shocked and grieving families must decide who will raise six-year-old Gal and baby Noam. When it becomes clear that Daniel's brother and sister-in-law had wanted Matt and Daniel to be the children's guardians, the two men find themselves confronted by challenges that strike at the heart of their relationship. What is Matt's place in an extended family that does not completely accept him or the commitment he and Daniel have made? How do Daniel's complex feelings about Israel and this act of terror affect his ability to recover from his brother's death? And what kind of parents can these two men really be to children who have lost so much?
The impact that this instant new family has on Matt, Daniel, and their relationship is subtle and heartbreaking, yet not without glimmers of hope. They must learn to reinvent and redefine their bond in profound, sometimes painful ways. How does a family become strong enough to stay together and endure when its very basis has drastically changed? And are there limits to honesty or commitment—or love?
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Library Journal
05/15/2014When Daniel Rosen's twin brother and sister-in-law are killed in a terrorist bombing in Israel, he and his partner, Matt, must fly to Jerusalem to make good on their promise to take in Joel and Ilana's children. Confronted not only with the horror of sudden and violent death, Daniel and Matt also have to navigate the issue of custody with both sets of grandparents and a bureaucratic state. But the real work begins once the children, six-year-old Gal and infant Noam, return with them to Massachusetts. Frank (Crybaby Butch) writes convincingly of the demands of small children on two people thrown into the deep end of parenting. Daniel and Matt's relationship suffers, but only Matt seems to notice it and tries to fight the dissolution. VERDICT Frank's ambitious twining of the gay parent story line and the complications of the situation in Israel for American Jews sometimes blends well but at other times feels forced. But overall, this is a thoughtful look at how grief isolates survivors and how families may, or may not, come together in crisis. For fans of domestic dramas, despite the political overtones.—Devon Thomas, Chelsea, MI
Scott Turow
A tender novel that deals with the emotional riptides left by an act of terrorism long after the headlines have faded. It is a brave, moving, and deeply compelling book, written with grace, about the ways even love and family devotion are challenged when the worst occurs.Dorothy Allison
I Loved it! Read it non-stop. These people catch you by the heart so powerfully you can hardly believe it is a novel. I’ve already had to loan it to a friend.People
In this wonderfully rich, absorbing novel, Frank sheds light on gender and identity, the anguished politics of the Middle East, the limits of love and one family’s struggle to stay intact.Huffington Post
[A] timeless story… beautiful, expansive, and deeply humanistic… Frank is a perfect storyteller, creating vivid landscapes and characters and events…. We have little choice in how we, or those whom we love, die. But when it comes to life, we can choose. Judith Frank shows us how.Bookreporter.com
This is a big American story, a tapping into the zeitgeist that few other novelists have really traveled --- taking the life of gay American couples beyond the struggle for marriage equality and giving a look at the usual challenges of any relationship.BookPage
A powerful novel about love, loss and the will to endure after inconceivable tragedy.Lambda Literary Review
Brilliant, thoughtful, [and] unexpectedly funny.Western Massachusetts Jewish Ledger
The book explores numerous hot button issues - gay rights, the Israel/Palestine conflict, child custody and Jewish identity - yet retains a surprising degree of humor and good will, making it an excellent and gripping read.latelastnightbooks.com
All I Love and Know is notable not only for its literary craft and emotional power but for its exploration of several hot-button social and political issues including gay marriage and the Israeli/Palestine conflict.Boston Globe
Frank delves into politics, both on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and on gay rights. The first is handled with a deft hand, the second, with almost a sleight of hand, making the impact of this novel, which is ultimately about the resilience of love, all the more powerful.Newsday
Descriptions of ‘honest, lesbionic Northhampton’ provide moments of comic relief throughout, enhancing the steady human warmth of this important novel. From the darkest moments to the lightest, Frank’s empathy for her characters transforms front-page news into literary fiction.Booklist (starred review)
This beautiful novel is old-fashioned in its approach . . . and yet it feels wholly fresh. . . . A compassionate, utterly compelling story of how family members, torn apart by tragedy, must reach deep within themselves to meet their greatest challenge.Alison Bechdel
This tender, intricate domestic drama both engages and informs what is arguably one of the critical issues of our time. It feels quite revolutionary, not just in the political sense, but in terms of the kind of stories we value.