A review by thecriticalreader
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The Run-Down: Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner provides sharp commentary on wealth, generational trauma, and Jewish American identity through its three self-destructive protagonists but struggles to meaningfully tie these themes together in its conclusion.
 
 
Review: 
Taffy Brodesser-Akner has a lot to say in her novel Long Island Compromise; she fully embraces excess in her breathless, almost stream-of-consciousness prose and the exaggerated dysfunctional nature of her main characters. Her wit and vision propel this cinematic dramedy forward as she follows the lives of three wealthy Jewish-American siblings who seemingly grew up with every privilege imaginable and who have ostensibly achieved commensurate professional success. The eldest, Nathan Fletcher, is a lawyer, the middle child, Beamer Fletcher, cowrote a successful action movie trilogy, and the youngest, Jenny Fletcher, spearheads the efforts of a university worker’s union. Behind their success, however, is a pit of dysfunction and self-loathing so deep that it derails every aspect of their professional and personal lives. Nathan lives in a state of all-encompassing fear and anxiety, which stunts his professional growth and self-satisfaction. Beamer falls headfirst into his sex and drug addictions, which threaten his marriage and shaky career. And Jenny, despite her academic and professional brilliance, feels so much shame at her privileged upbringing that she sabotages her relationships and professional development. The root of their self-destruction lies in their extremely privileged upbringing, which was stunted by their father’s brief but traumatic kidnapping that left their home devoid of love and support.
 
Brodesser-Akner serves up an insightful but harsh portrait of the Fletcher family to comment on the current state of Jewish American identity. She demonstrates how the survival mechanisms that allowed the Jewish immigrant community to weather the horrors of the Holocaust and violent anti-Semitism—such as insularity and financial success—have morphed into ugly, destructive hindrances in the wake of several generations of prosperity and safety. The close-knit nature of their communities has transformed into xenophobia, racism, and nepotism; the financial success into corporate exploitation, environmental degradation, and personal greed. These trends have their mirror in the Fletcher family, whose members have developed deeply unhealthy coping mechanisms in response to a kidnapping threat that appears both imminent and incredibly remote. 
 
Despite the book’s insight, the narrative never really escapes its ambivalent position between empathy for the characters’ struggles and disgust at their privilege and self-centeredness. It is as if the book itself adopts the self-loathing that characterizes its main characters, and as a result struggles to find clarity amidst its melodrama and excess, a dilemma that becomes more pronounced as it reaches its rather convoluted conclusion. 
 
You might like this book if . . . 
·      You enjoy literary fiction about (extremely) dysfunctional rich families
·      You like extremely flawed main characters
·      You are interested in themes of generational wealth, trauma, and Jewish American identity
 
 
You might not like this book if . . . 
·      You dislike a maximalist, discursive writing style
·      You like to see positive character growth
 
 
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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