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Emily Gray Tedrowe’s exceptional debut novel depicts the shockwaves set in motion by the sudden marriage of one middle-class family’s 78-year-old matriarch to a wealthy outsider. Commuters is that rare novel that offers something for almost everyone: “foodies” interested in exploring the rich tapestry of the New York City restaurant scene; the millions who have been profoundly affected by the current financial and mortgage crisis; or anyone simply looking for a beautifully drawn family drama in the vein of the works of Katrina Kittle (The Blessings of the Animals, Two Truths and a Lie) and Jennifer Haigh (The Condition, Baker Towers, Mrs. Kimble).
Reviews:
“Why shouldn’t a 78-year-old bride have a lavish June wedding? Winnie not only marries Jerry, a confident, wealthy, octogenarian Chicago businessman, in style, the newlyweds also buy a huge old mansion graced by a venerable sycamore. The couple’s children are appalled. Winnie’s daughter Rachel is struggling to keep her family afloat as her husband recovers from a severe brain injury. Jerry’s daughter Annette instructs her son Avery, a college drop-out and rehab graduate living in New York City, to keep an eye on his grandfather in his new Upstate home, but Jerry’s enthusiasm for Avery’s burgeoning culinary skills is hardly what she had in mind. Rachel turns to Jerry for financial assistance; Annette launches a vicious legal battle to protect her inheritance; and Winnie ignites vehement protests as she plans to cut down the landmark tree. Tedrowe is an exceptionally adept first-time novelist, creating a thoroughly engrossing plot, redolent settings, and intriguing characters coping valiantly with fear, terrible decisions, and the bewitchment of money. Tedrowe’s tale of family conflict, shelter, love, and loss is suspenseful, funny, and tender.” —Donna Seaman, Booklist
"Tedrowe explores the reconfigurations of a family and the strange alliances that can occur between young and old, love and work. And she writes brilliantly about money…. A deeply satisfying debut." —Margot Livesey, author of The House on Fortune Street
“A poignant meditation on desire, heartrending loss, and dreams deferred.” —Robin Antalek, author of The Summer We Fell Apart
“In her wonderfully cohesive debut novel, short-story writer Tedrowe graduates to elegant novelist. . . . A lovely and literate family drama that wins bonus points for its sincerity and open-hearted delivery.”—Kirkus Reviews
“So fantastic. This is the kind of book you would imagine Virginia Woolf might write were she with us is the 21st century: relevant and contemporary, relentlessly funny, deeply insightful, and fearless in its exploration of people’s private lives.” —Patrick Somerville, author of The Cradle
“Shows great promise in her compassionate, nuanced depiction of love—among the old and young alike—and her confident handling of alternating, multigenerational narrators.” —Publishers Weekly