Description
Jay Neugeboren, author of some twenty-five novels and numerous articles for magazines and newspapers, writes with an energy and sensitivity that have not diminished over the years. In his new book of essays, Dickens in Brooklyn, some written in earlier years, he focuses on concerns that persist despite attitudes to mental health and overall wellbeing.
The most moving essay centers on Robert, his younger brother, who was chronically mentally ill for fifty years, but whom he always cared for with tolerance and patience, and above all, love. His invariable answer when questioned why he never gives up is, “Because he is my brother.”
Then, switching subjects but still at home, he treasured his years as a single parent, taking over ‘women’s work’ to bring three teenagers into adulthood.
Involvement with his originally immigrant family best describes Neugeboren’s life. Anyone admitting the complexity and even frustration of families will enjoy anecdotes about his thirty-seven first cousins, those who scored top of their class, and others who failed to the end of the semester.
The essays are a joy, albeit a few with bitterness and sadness. What a great book for the impatient reader who wants it all and finds it here.
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