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Long Island Compromise: A Novel

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Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An exhilarating novel about one American family and the dark moment that shatters their suburban paradise, from the New York Times bestselling author of Fleishman Is in Trouble New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • New York Magazine’s Beach Read Book Club Pick • Belletrist Book Club Pick A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, Oprah Daily, The New Yorker, Time, The Washington Post, NPR, Vogue, Town & Country, New York Post, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Parade, Kirkus Reviews “Joins the pantheon of great American novels.”—Los Angeles Times “Exuberant and absorbing . . . a big old-fashioned social novel.”—The Atlantic “Were we gangsters? No. But did we know how to start a fire?” In 1980, a wealthy businessman named Carl Fletcher is kidnapped from his driveway, brutalized, and held for ransom. He is returned to his wife and kids less than a week later, only slightly the worse, and the family moves on with their lives, resuming their prized places in the saga of the American dream, comforted in the realization that though their money may have been what endangered them, it is also what assured them their safety. But now, nearly forty years later, it’s clear that perhaps nobody ever got over anything, after all. Carl has spent the ensuing years secretly seeking closure to the matter of his kidnapping, while his wife, Ruth, has spent her potential protecting her husband’s emotional health. Their three grown children aren’t doing much better: Nathan’s chronic fear won’t allow him to advance at his law firm; Beamer, a Hollywood screenwriter, will consume anything—substance, foodstuff, women—in order to numb his own perpetual terror; and Jenny has spent her life so bent on proving that she’s not a product of her family’s pathology that she has come to define it. As they hover at the delicate precipice of a different kind of survival, they learn that the family fortune has dwindled to just about nothing, and they must face desperate questions about how much their wealth has played a part in both their lives’ successes and failures. Long Island Compromise spans the entirety of one family’s history, winding through decades and generations, all the way to the outrageous present, and confronting the mainstays of American Jewish life: tradition, the pursuit of success, the terror of history, fear of the future, old wives’ tales, evil eyes, ambition, achievement, boredom, dybbuks, inheritance, pyramid schemes, right-wing capitalists, beta-blockers, psychics, and the mostly unspoken love and shared experience that unite a family forever. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House (July 9, 2024)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 464 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593133498


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 91


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.49 x 1.48 x 9.54 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #13,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #40 in Fiction Satire #153 in Family Life Fiction (Books) #550 in Literary Fiction (Books)


#40 in Fiction Satire:


#153 in Family Life Fiction (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • An excellent character-driven novel
I truly enjoyed this book. It is a strong character study into generational trauma from the perspective of a wealthy Long Island family. There is quite a bit of narrative, but the author makes it quite engaging. The novel was excellent at showing the problems that come with money, and what happens when people are insulated from the cares of the world - but at the same time have the world intrude on their life. It was definitely a page turner and I felt myself getting invested in the characters and what happens to them. Definitely worth the read. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2025 by Jaye P

  • Interesting storylines
This was definitely an interesting story, although at times a bit tedious. The novel fluctuates between characters. telling the story from each of their perspectives. Some characters were more likable, their adaptation to the kidnapping and its aftermath leading to a lifestyle that varied in its appeal. I found Beamer and his sexual pursuits to be uninteresting after the initial episodes. Nathan was more of a “nebbish” evoking sympathy for his plight but also some frustration. The other characters were at times interesting and at times the recipient. of an impatient “eye roll”. Overall it was an absorbing enjoyable story, ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2025 by Elizabeth18

  • Mixed Bag
At about the 50% point, I was really liking this novel. It felt funny and smart and insightful. Unfortunately, it deteriorated as it went on and the author tried to dig deeper and find meaning in inherited trauma and from the impacts of money on happiness. An inconsistent tone - is this a black comedy or are we supposed to feel something for these characters - was a major weakness for me. The overarching family drama is very much a Jonathan Franzen knock-off built around a wealthy Jewish family from Long Island. After a quick start where the plot is set in motion, each of 3 adult children get long sections. The first section about the second son, Beamer, is highly entertaining and has a real pulse. It's clear Brodesser-Akner knows his world well and with it creates intense - almost unbearably so - drama. The second section about the older son keep, Nathan, also felt insightful and real. Jenny, the daughter at the center of the third section, feels completely under-cooked and two dimensional - more a series of personality traits and bad decisions than a fleshed out character. From there the novel loses steam until an end where everything is wrapped up much too neatly with not a single surprise. Some important secondary characters are either made of cardboard (Carl the father, his sister Marjorie who, while entertaining and interesting, doesn't seem the least bit real) or ciphers (Arthur, Phyllis). The section about Beamer and his life in LA is good enough to have made me glad I read this book, but I expect to remember my disappointment by the end more than anything. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2024 by JAH

  • hilarious and poignant disfunctional family drama -
This book was both Hilarious and deeply poignant and moving. I particularly identified having grown up Jewish in the 60's in the part of Long Island the book takes place and also having immigrant grandparents and family who also escaped the Holocaust. The book explores so many topics - family trauma , the effects of wealth and privilege, addiction, dysfunctional relationships, forgiveness , and so much more all with an audacious sense of humor and compassion for her characters who are way too responsible for most of their own woes to be like-able yet they are recognizable and compelling and well, it's not all their fault ...their predicaments are "ouchy" and funny and over the top yet believable I Loved this book ! Great writing ! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2025 by Carol B

  • Ordered the paperback, but did not know it would be large print
I ordered a book to take on vacation, Long Island Compromise, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, a novel I have been looking forward to reading. To my surprise when I received the book today, it was the large print edition, which I did not intend to order. Although I guess that will make it easier to read on the beach, it also makes the book much bigger and heavier to pack. I went back to the Amazon site, but nowhere where do I see indicated that the paperback is a large print edition. Perhaps this is why the paperback is more expensive than the hardcover?????? Wish I’d known. Amazon, do better! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2024 by David

  • Beautiful writing, gripping narrative
I bought Long Island Compromise after reading two nonfiction pieces by this author in the New York Times. The Times pieces were so moving, I had to tell friends about them. I feel the same way about this novel. The author has such a gift for language, for weaving different narratives. Parts literally made me laugh out loud. She has such insight into troubled families. My upbringing was a far cry from those of her characters, but I could still relate. I have to push myself to finish some novels. I didn’t want to put this one down. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2025 by cuddlemama

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