A
family consists of persons of various age groups, who have lives of their own. There are problems in every family, which lead to tensions, outside relationships, breakups, &
amp; misguidance to children. Especially, relations with more than one man or woman, invariably land one in trouble. This novel has the setting of New York, as the background of the events taking place. It centres around Ms. Chenia Arnow, who is the heroine of the novel. She married Ruben Arnow, when she was 21 years old. She came from Poland/Russia, after the first big war, at the age of 16 years. She has
love affairs with Harry Taubmann, Soloman Farber etc. Her husband Ruben Arnow, also has love affairs with Trudy Fleisch, Bertha Landau etc. Ruben & Chenia have their son Sheldon, daughter Mimi, & the now expected Devorah. This debut novel of Ms. Carol, starts with the narration, as if given by a five-week-old unborn
baby (Devorah), in the belly of her mother Ms. Chenia Arnow. Due to several reasons, Chenia does not want to have the baby. The Doctor gives her an injection for this purpose. However nothing happens. In despair, she runs to the sea beach, but is driven back to the shore by the waves. Finally, after the normal period, a girl child Devorah is born, as a normal baby. After some period, while taking Devorah out for strolling, Chenia comes across a stranger Harry Taubman from Rumania, & she is deeply attracted to him. They meet often, & their love blossoms & grows as a long drawn affair. In the mean time, love grows between Ruben & Trudy Fleisch. The hide & seek game goes on between these lovers. At one stage, Ruben sees Trudy going along with her neighbour, leading to misunderstanding between the two. On the other hand, Ruben asks Trudy to divorce her husband, & marry him. Though Ruben keeps Mangiameli in his house as a boarder, but he is suspicious about his relationship with Chenia. After some time, Ruben removes him as a boarder, & also changes his apartment. Sheldon often meets his girl friend Lenore. She gets pregnant. Sheldon wants her to abort. Finally Lenore has an abortion. Mimi has a habit of shoplifting from the departmental stores. One day Ruben is mugged. His wallet & wristwatch are removed, & he gets a few punches.
In the meantime, love also blossoms between Ruben & Bertha Landau. One day Ruben wants to go to Bertha, but is met by Trudy on the way. He bluffs Trudy, but she calls off the bluff. They have a big fight. Chenia says that she wants a divorce from Ruben. She also informs Harry about it, so that they can marry. But Harry shocks Chenia, by saying that he already has a wife for 8 years, & that he cannot leave her. Chenia fights with Harry. Later Chenia is found admitted in the hospital. However, the affair of Rubin & Trudy continues. Rubin divides his evenings between Trudy & Bertha. Rubin asks Chenia for a divorce, but now Chenia does not agree. Trudy phones Bertha that Ruben is divorcing Chenia to marry her (Trudy), but Bertha says that Ruben is having an affair with her. In the meantime, Ms. Bertha breaks up all contacts with Ruben. Ms. Bertha is unapproachable. Still, Ruben desires to marry Bertha. Ruben finds difficulty in continuing his love affairs with Trudy, due to her kid & her husband. Love also blossoms between Chenia & Solomon Farber, & he marries her, & becomes stepfather of Devorah. Chenia spends 25 happy years with Solomon. Mimi marries a successful executive, with a huge mansion. She gives birth to several children. Mimi is now 50 years old. Devorah marries a charming & selfish
person, even before completing graduation. After four years of
marriage her child aborts, their marriage ends, & Devorah returns to the school. Thereafter she completes PhD. Devorah is then living with Jack Wisenfeld, a lawyer. They get married, but remain childless for a long time. Devorah is now 40 years old & pregnant. Solomon has died of a Stroke. Chenia is 86 years old, & has bone cancer.
In the closing stages of the novel, Chenia mentions that she was raped twice in young age, & she tells this silent suffering of hers to Devorah. Devorah asks her, whether she did not want to have her born to her. Devorah says that she missed her mother for sometime earlier, & later, after her marriage to Solomon. She is asking whether her mama loved her. In the mean time, Devorah is taken to the hospital, & her daughter is born. The baby is taken to Chenia, without informing the hospital authorities, & then taken back, but in the meantime, police has been called, who are then explained the position. After their returning home, Chenia is no more. Devorah keeps her baby near Chenia for a while, & waits for the arrival of Jack. Chenia is finally at peace. The author narrates the story, depicting the sorrows & joys, ups & downs, good & bad turning points & events & actions of each generation of a family, in an interesting manner. Considering in an overall manner, the novel is worth going through.
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