Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by neufangledmark
The Altruists by Andrew Ridker
4.0
Altruism is defined as "the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others" - or "behavior of an animal that benefits another at its own expense". Andrew Ridker's debut novel, The Altruists, carries a title which leads you to believe its story is going to be entirely taken up with characters who practice and live by this belief. Indeed, it is about that. However, there is a bit of an irony in this, for this book is largely about good intentions frequently gone awry.
The book centers around the somewhat quirky Jewish family, the Alters, who live in a St. Louis college town. Arthur, the patriarch, is a a bumbling, questionably-pending-tenure college professor who once had grand ambitions in his life that went terribly wrong; leading him to descend into a disappointed, miserly, cheap existence in his old age. His grown children, Ethan and Maggie, both live their own somewhat discontent lives in New York City: Ethan, a bisexual man who leaves employment even as he extravagantly cashes in on an expensive Manhattan apartment, and Maggie, who "survives" by quite literally starving herself, in the pursuit of living a life of noble intentions helping others. At the heart of this family is mother Francine Alter, a psychiatrist who we understand early on has died from breast cancer, but nonetheless remains a powerful force and uniting factor among all 3 of the remaining Alters throughout the book. Occasionally, Ridker flashes back and narrates episodes from Francine's younger life when she met and married Arthur, then gave birth to and raised the children - ultimately making her perhaps the most sympathetic character of the novel. Much of the story revolves around the fact that Francine had a secret cache of money and investments that she bequeathed to only Ethan and Maggie upon her death; Arthur, failing at his job and finding himself in a pickle with the mortgage on the old family home, invites his children home for a visit to try and coax some of that inheritance from them to ultimately save the house, and in turn, save him.
It's entirely understandable to see why many readers might get through half of this book and want to toss it aside, finding the Alters completely unlikeable. Despite what they feel are their own good intentions, much of what motivates them is revealed to be complete selfishness - Arthur, in my opinion, being the worst of them, though Maggie's motivations were completely bizarre to me at times too. You want to see each of them get a bit of a comeuppance by the end, and I would argue that - if you stick with it - you do. In their own unique, separate ways, they learn their lessons. I would argue too that Francine, somewhat beyond the grave, has her hand in it, and it seems only fitting that she does. Then again, personally, I just love books like this that are so character-driven; there is much that Ridker explores with each one of the family members here.
Truly, it's a book to stick with - the second half is actually quite better than the first. I found it immensely rewarding in the end, drawing to a satisfactory conclusion. Sometimes having good intentions isn't enough. What may be good for one person can be disastrous for another. There is a lot to think about here, after the final page. It's also a remarkable, astute debut novel for such a young writer (28 years old!), and I look forward to reading more from him.
The book centers around the somewhat quirky Jewish family, the Alters, who live in a St. Louis college town. Arthur, the patriarch, is a a bumbling, questionably-pending-tenure college professor who once had grand ambitions in his life that went terribly wrong; leading him to descend into a disappointed, miserly, cheap existence in his old age. His grown children, Ethan and Maggie, both live their own somewhat discontent lives in New York City: Ethan, a bisexual man who leaves employment even as he extravagantly cashes in on an expensive Manhattan apartment, and Maggie, who "survives" by quite literally starving herself, in the pursuit of living a life of noble intentions helping others. At the heart of this family is mother Francine Alter, a psychiatrist who we understand early on has died from breast cancer, but nonetheless remains a powerful force and uniting factor among all 3 of the remaining Alters throughout the book. Occasionally, Ridker flashes back and narrates episodes from Francine's younger life when she met and married Arthur, then gave birth to and raised the children - ultimately making her perhaps the most sympathetic character of the novel. Much of the story revolves around the fact that Francine had a secret cache of money and investments that she bequeathed to only Ethan and Maggie upon her death; Arthur, failing at his job and finding himself in a pickle with the mortgage on the old family home, invites his children home for a visit to try and coax some of that inheritance from them to ultimately save the house, and in turn, save him.
It's entirely understandable to see why many readers might get through half of this book and want to toss it aside, finding the Alters completely unlikeable. Despite what they feel are their own good intentions, much of what motivates them is revealed to be complete selfishness - Arthur, in my opinion, being the worst of them, though Maggie's motivations were completely bizarre to me at times too. You want to see each of them get a bit of a comeuppance by the end, and I would argue that - if you stick with it - you do. In their own unique, separate ways, they learn their lessons. I would argue too that Francine, somewhat beyond the grave, has her hand in it, and it seems only fitting that she does. Then again, personally, I just love books like this that are so character-driven; there is much that Ridker explores with each one of the family members here.
Truly, it's a book to stick with - the second half is actually quite better than the first. I found it immensely rewarding in the end, drawing to a satisfactory conclusion. Sometimes having good intentions isn't enough. What may be good for one person can be disastrous for another. There is a lot to think about here, after the final page. It's also a remarkable, astute debut novel for such a young writer (28 years old!), and I look forward to reading more from him.