This Is Not About Us

Goodman (Isola) delivers a bighearted linked story collection about a family’s travails. In the opener, “Apple Cake,” cancer-stricken Jeanne Rubinstein lies on her deathbed, stubbornly refusing to accept her terminal prognosis. As the family sits vigil, the baked goods provided by Jeanne’s older sister, Helen, a consummate homemaker, are upstaged by middle sister Sylvia’s superior apple cake, which sets off a feud that underscores the dramas playing out in subsequent entries. Sylvia’s son, Richard, goes through a divorce in “New Frames” and then embarks on a new romance in “Poppy,” while other stories trace the spats and reconciliations between Helen’s daughters, Wendy and Pam, as when Wendy frets over not hearing from Pam after knitting and sending her a “pussy hat” following the 2016 election. Also chronicled is the bickering between Jeanne’s sons, Dan and Steve, particularly in “Redemption Song,” when they each host the family seder on alternating nights. Meanwhile, the youngest generation of Rubinsteins—in their teens and 20s—try to find their way, with free spirit Phoebe embracing her interest in music. Each story succeeds on its own; taken together, they reveal how a family’s bonds are shaped and tested by tradition as well as by each individual’s recurring patterns. In their messiness and constant striving for harmony, the Rubinsteins are wholly relatable. This is one to treasure. (Feb.)