Love, Work, Children - by Cheryl Mendelson (Paperback)

About the Book

A serious accident spurs dramatic changes in the lives of a high-achieving New York City family in this new novel by the author of "Morningside Heights" and "Home Comfort."

Book Synopsis

Morningside Heights, a Manhattan neighborhood sandwiched between Columbia University and the Hudson River, is home to an eclectic mix of academics, struggling artists, and rooted families. In this distinctive world, Peter Frankel, a successful partner in a prestigious law firm, lives a seemingly contented life with his talented wife and his two Ivy League--educated children.

Yet in middle age Peter finds himself discontent. His wife's narrowness and her preoccupation with appearances leaves him cold, his job does not fulfill his creative bent, and he fears that his children, Susan and Louis, have grown into skeptical young adults who shun marriage and stability.

So when Peter's wife is badly hurt in a car accident and lies in a coma, he finds himself guiltily relieved-and newly drawn toward his children as they too struggle with ambivalent feelings about the mother who's never really shown them much love. As Susan, a cerebral doctoral student, becomes unhappily involved with an aspiring playwright and Louis is caught up in a futile pursuit of an ambitious journalist, Peter's own quiet life is shaken up, and longings he has stifled for years come rumbling to the surface.

Freed from his wife's judgments, Peter throws himself into his greatest pleasure, the work he does for a foundation that funds offbeat artistic projects. And as his passion for this work ignites, so does his desire for another woman. But the stubborn morality that has steered Peter's life is a force to be reckoned with-and one from which he may never entirely escape.

Love, Work, Children is a profoundly insightful novel about two generations and the colorful urban world they inhabit. A superb portrayal of one of New York's exceptional neighborhoods, this is a story, ultimately, about the self-imposed obstacles to true happiness-and a testament to the joy one can find in overcoming them.

Review Quotes

Praise for Morningside Heights

"[A] rich, romantic novel . . . peopled with emotionally intriguing characters. Mendelson [creates] a stage akin to those of Jane Austen and George Eliot."
-O: The Oprah Magazine

"Morningside Heights [is] a sensational backdrop for a long, smart, soapy novel of manners, which is what Mendelson delivers in her fiction debut."
-Entertainment Weekly

"Leisurely storytelling of the most enjoyable sort . . . Mendelson draws you in and keeps you charmed with her three-dimensional characters and the intricacies of the plot."
-The Seattle Times

"Like a good Jane Austen novel, this book focuses on who will marry whom and who will inherit the real estate. . . . The movement of the plot is graceful and the characters nicely drawn."
-The Boston Globe

"Deeply satisfying . . . Having devoured [Morningside Heights], I am prepared to guarantee that her many fans won't be disappointed. . . . Mendelson is funny and wry."
-Detroit Free Press

About the Author

Cheryl Mendelson received her Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Rochester and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She has practiced law in New York City and taught philosophy at Purdue and Columbia universities. She is the author of Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House and the novel Morningside Heights. She lives in New York City.