*Review* The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman

Photo Credit: Goodreads

 Genre: Historical Fiction/Jewish

Published: March 8, 2016

Pages: 301

Setting: Brooklyn

Synopsis

Brooklyn, 1947: in the midst of a blizzard, in a two-family brownstone, two babies are born minutes apart to two women. They are sisters by marriage with an impenetrable bond forged before and during that dramatic night; but as the years progress, small cracks start to appear and their once deep friendship begins to unravel. No one knows why, and no one can stop it. One misguided choice; one moment of tragedy. Heartbreak wars with happiness and almost but not quite wins.

From debut novelist Lynda Cohen Loigman comes The Two-Family House, a moving family saga filled with heart, emotion, longing, love, and mystery.

Review

I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program in the hopes that I would leave an honest review.

This book is told from multiple POVs, giving us a broad experience of the events while making them all feel personal. Books written like this usually lead to me empathizing with all of the characters to an extent, but there were a couple of characters that I just could not empathize with in The Two-Family House. I understand their perspectives, but they are just really not nice people.

There were a few times when this book forced my eyes to leak, particularly towards the end. You will probably want to have a few tissues handy just in case.

The book spans a couple of decades and deals with some rather intense subjects. I think it would make an excellent selection for a book club discussion. There are a lot of things from the book that I would love to discuss with my book club or any book club. I just want to talk about them with someone. This is a book that needs to be discussed. 

Overall I give The Two-Family House 5 out of 5 stars because it kept me engaged and has me desperately wanting to talk about it with someone. I highly recommend it. - Katie 

Buy the Book

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About the Author

Lynda Cohen Loigman grew up in Longmeadow, MA. She received a B.A. in English and American Literature from Harvard College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. She is now a student of the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, and lives with her husband and two children in Chappaqua, NY. The Two-Family House is her first novel.