The Family Tabor #thefamilytabor #cherisewolas #flatironbooks #familysaga @absltmom

  “I sustain myself with the love of family.” (Maya Angelou)

The Family Tabor is a multi generational look at how a family comes together to honor a father, discover themselves in the process, and find that their hearts and love are very much intertwined with the happenings of their childhood, their parents, their grandparents and their heritage of being Jewish.

Harry Tabor, has done a lot of good rescuing families, performing community service, and being a philanthropist. He is well liked, loved by his family, and is to be honored as he has been chosen Man of the Decade. His family gathers and each of his children and his wife reflect and think about the direction their lives have taken and question the things that have happened to them. Harry’s wife, Roma, loves her husband and her children, and grandchildren and yet she sees storms brewing.

Harry holds a secret, one that is upsetting the status of his life, one that he is becoming more and more shamed about, as his conscience speaks to him reminding him of the facts that he has suppressed over the years. With the advent of this award, Harry becomes confused, and wonders does the good he has done overwhelm the bad in his past? Will he be able to look at the refection of this “man of the decade” and see what he wants to see, or will that reflection remind him always of the secret buried within his soul?

Harry’s and Roma’s children are also battling their demons. Simon, their successful lawyer son, is beginning to find his Jewishness and he and his wife Elena are finding themselves at great odds over this. Phoebe, Harry and Roma’s daughter, can’t seem to find a man to love and care for. She seems to be adrift, accomplished, a high powered attorney and yet, can’t seem to find a man to love and share her life. Camille, another daughter, a social anthropologist, seems to be looking for escape either through her interactions with tribes distant and remote or through her work with the dying. She has a man who loves her, but fears commitment.

They all descend on Palm Springs to celebrate their father and during this time rediscover their familial ties which redirect all of their lives into their future.

This was a beautifully written story that held this reader’s interest as Ms Wolas takes us into the minds and the hearts of her characters. She unfolds them and lets us see ourselves in their struggles and their hopes and dreams. This book is dense as all families are but in the end family love is the tie that binds. “Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.” (Brad Henry)

Thank you to Cherise Wolas, Flatiron Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Cherise Wolas’ acclaimed debut novel, THE RESURRECTION OF JOAN ASHBY, was a PEN/Debut Fiction Prize longlist selection, named a 2017 Best Novel and Best Debut Novel by Kirkus Reviews, a Top 10 First Novel of 2017 by Booklist, a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice, an Indie Next Great Reads pick, a Bookbrowse Editor’s Choice, among other accolades, and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Huffington Post, etcThe most important fact in her bio is that her first stories were in crayon. Beyond that, she has a BFA and a JD, was a feature film and television story editor and development executive, practiced law in California and New York, and founded a film company where she acquired stories, novels, and scripts, and produced movies.

She lives in New York City with her husband and a feline named Henry who thinks he’s a dog. She’s working on a new novel.