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Its the typical American Dream story.
A young Brooklyn husband and wife are ambitious and in love.
Then, when she is in grad school, they accidentally conceive.
Another baby follows two years later.
They file for bankruptcy.
If all this sounds, well, unpleasant, then I must say I agree with you.
But Lynn Steger StrongsWantis a defining novel of our age of left-behind families.
Neither pays a living wage.
and Do what you love and youll never work a day in your life!
who now string together a slew of jobs, forever tired.
All that hypothetical promise gone.
They shunned corporate Manhattan, proud to work with their hands.
She has an Ivy League Ph.D. and impressive literary bona fides but no career.
Her husband left finance when Lehman Brothers imploded and then turned to a straggling carpentry business.
The ground beneath her is compressed powder, crumbling with every step.
Shes a knowingly half-engaged teacher.
Every little thing is hard.
A loaf of challah bread meant to last a week is gone in hours, and she panics.
Elizabeth knows exactly where she hovers on the food chain of people with hard lives.
Summer 2020 is cursed.
Elizabeth wouldnt be surprised by the stick of dynamite the coronavirus has implanted in our economy.
Just another setback in a life full of them.
Its an odd pleasure a difficult story that is winningly told.
Youll feel guilty for enjoying it as much as you do.
