The First Desire
by Nancy Reisman
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Description
The lives of the four Cohen siblings--Sadie, Jo, Goldie, and Irving--are turned upside down by the secrets that they have kept hidden, even from themselves, as the sudden disappearance of Goldie sparks revelations about their family.Tags
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Member Reviews
s it just me, or is it the fact that one of the sisters is named Jo, that this novel reminded me a bit of and updated, Jewish Little Women?
Very good handling of the joys and stresses of siblings and family, the need to disappear from the expectations of daily life, and the way that death of a loved one changes everything.
Very good handling of the joys and stresses of siblings and family, the need to disappear from the expectations of daily life, and the way that death of a loved one changes everything.
Another book about the better days in Buffalo,NY. This is a generational story of a Jewish family in Buffalo. Typical of any family, some go off to new lives, some stay in the family business and some follow what is expected of them.The hurts and dysfunction,dedication,obligation and love are all there.
The author lived in Buffalo for a time.
The author lived in Buffalo for a time.
Alternating characters in a family in Buffalo in the 1920s-1940s; jumping forward in time. Slow-paced, good writing and character development; just a tiny bit slow.
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Author Information
4+ Works 202 Members
Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Abe Cohen
- Important places
- Buffalo, New York, USA
- Epigraph
- My island seemed to be a sort of cloud-dump. All the hemisphere's left-over clouds arrived and hung above... - Elizabeth Bishop, "Crusoe in England"
- First words
- July, the air grassy and mild, the sort of morning Sadie waits for through the deep of Buffalo winters- mornings when it seems the city has surrendered to pleasure, to color and light.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Her life astonishes her: he is calling her name.
- Blurbers
- Delbanco, Nicholas
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 155
- Popularity
- 210,699
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.48)
- Languages
- English, French, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 5
