THE LATECOMER

5 stars out of 5

At not far from 500 pages, this book isn't a quick read. But if you choose to read it - and I highly recommend that you do - set aside even more time because you don't want to skim over a single word of the exquisitely woven story and amazingly detailed character development. The author blew me away last year with the first of her books I've read - The Plot - and this one is no less impressive.

Born thru in vitro fertilization back when the procedure was relatively in its infancy, the story focuses on triplets - Harrison, Lewyn and Sally - and Phoebe, who arrived via the same means by way of a single leftover unused but still viable egg 20 years or so later (making them all, in scientific fact, quadruplets). Needless to say, the first three have a tough time wrapping their heads around that - as did I - but therein lies the intriguing story of the "latecomer" and what happens in and to the rest of the family thereafter.

I'd describe it as a coming of age tale, except to me, the initial three, at least, seemed to behave (or misbehave) like old souls pretty much from the beginning. Whether or not that can be attributed to their acknowledged but rarely practiced Jewish heritage, parents who may or may not actually have loved them, or their Petri dish origins, I'm not sure. All I know is that from the beginning, the triplets were at loggerheads with each other; even on their once-a-year birthday when their mother, Joanna, insisted that they pretend to coexist peaceably, they (as my late mother was fond of saying) held hands to keep from fighting.

Phoebe's birth, obviously, throws a bit of a monkey wrench into their disdain for each other and Phoebe (do we like her? Hate her? Refuse to acknowledge her existence?) That said, the story weaves into and out of each character's thoughts, behaviors and interactions with the others (to the extent that there were any), mostly leading up to Phoebe's rather untimely birth - with an explanation, of course, as to why she happened when she happened. It touches on infidelity, deception, wealth, religion (or the lack thereof) and, perhaps most importantly, Phoebe's efforts to bring them all back to some semblance of a real family. You'll have to read it to find out the extent of her success - which comes with some unexpected twists and turns that made me shake my head in awe of how anyone could possibly come up with such an intricate plot. In short, this is a winner in my book - and I thank the publisher for the privilege of reading a pre-release copy. Outstanding!

The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Celadon Books, May 2022); 368 pp.