NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Captures the angst and anxiety of modern life with . . . astute observations about interactions between the haves and have-nots, and the realities of life among the long-married.”—USA TodayA provocative novel that explores what it means to be a mother, a wife, and a woman at a moment of reckoning, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Miller’s Valley and… bestselling author of Miller’s Valley and Still Life with Bread Crumbs.
Some days Nora Nolan thinks that she and her husband, Charlie, lead a charmed life—except when there’s a crisis at work, a leak in the roof at home, or a problem with their twins at college. And why not? New York City was once Nora’s dream destination, and her clannish dead-end block has become a safe harbor, a tranquil village amid the urban craziness. The owners watch one another’s children grow up. They use the same handyman. They trade gossip and gripes, and they maneuver for the ultimate status symbol: a spot in the block’s small parking lot.
Then one morning, Nora returns from her run to discover that a terrible incident has shaken the neighborhood, and the enviable dead-end block turns into a potent symbol of a divided city. The fault lines begin to open: on the block, at Nora’s job, and especially in her marriage.
Praise for Alternate Side
“[Anna] Quindlen’s quietly precise evaluation of intertwined lives evinces a keen understanding of and appreciation for universal human frailties.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Exquisitely rendered . . . [Quindlen] is one of our most astute chroniclers of modern life. . . . [Alternate Side] has an almost documentary feel, a verisimilitude that’s awfully hard to achieve.”—The New York Times Book Review
“An exceptional depiction of complex characters—particularly their weaknesses and uncertainties—and the intricacies of close relationships . . . Quindlen’s provocative novel is a New York City drama of fractured marriages and uncomfortable class distinctions.”—Publishers Weekly
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Great family and neighborhood drama. Very human. Good peak at making NYC home (if you’re fairly wealthy).
Upper West Side NYC meets with petty neighborhood jealousy. A supposedly well educated and classy group of people squabble over a parking space and what results is a horrific act of violence. This is the premise of Anna Quindlen’s new book.
This tale is told beautifully , the author does not disappoint in her writing of this book. The story is so well written in prose that went down like a fine red wine. With that said the book was slow moving for me and while I did enjoy the book and the characters, especially Nora, it just took a while to get into. Nora was my favorite character, I would love to have her job, my dream job has always been to work in a museum and live in NYC. Would I love to be married to Charlie? No thanks ! The author examines and delves into the heart of this family and what it takes for Nora to keep it all together as a wife, mother and working woman. As Nora’s life unravels her character becomes stronger and this is what I took away from this story; as women we are separate beings as well as mothers and wives.
While this book was about a tragic incident it was also a story about a woman who finds out whi she really is and what she really wants in life.
I am always reading and enjoy a different book. This was one of them
I love her writing… this was disappointing. Formulaic, in my opinion.
It really made me think about what is the truth and what we take for granted from newspapers. Made me feel so very sorry for this poor worker who is just thrust on the side by the wealthy as though they had not spent years helping them. I always make sure to treat all people the same as I grew up as a family of not have nots.
Too wordy. Could have been a way shorter book