A Reunion Of Ghosts

A Novel

By: Judith Claire Mitchell

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter, William Charlton

A NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FINALIST

“The Alter sisters are mordant, wry, and crystalline in wit and vision; it is a tremendous pleasure to rocket through generations of their family histories with them.” —Lauren Groff, New York Timesbestselling author of Fates and Furies, The Monsters of Templeton, and Arcadia

In the waning days of 1999, the last of the Alters—three damaged but wisecracking sisters who share an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side—decide it’s time to close the circle of the family curse by taking their own lives. But first, Lady, Vee, and Delph must explain the origins of that curse and how it has manifested throughout the preceding generations. Unspooling threads of history, personal memory, and family lore, they weave a mesmerizing account that stretches back a century to their great-grandfather, a brilliant scientist whose professional triumph became the terrible legacy that defines them. A suicide note crafted by three bright, funny women, A Reunion of Ghosts is the final chapter of a saga lifetimes in the making—one that is inexorably intertwined with the story of the twentieth century itself.

“Mitchell explores the mixed-blessing bonds of family with wry wit. This original tale is black comedy at its best.”—People Book of the Week

“A rich portrait of a complicated family, at turns violent and hilarious.”—Emma Straub, New York Timesbestselling author

Rich and resonant

At times I wondered if the plot was a little contrived, but I would also like to go back and reread or relisten to it. The writing shone. I found myself making time for this one, always a good sign.

Loved this on Audible

Lovely narration and writing style. This is one of my favorites on audible! Quirky story and wonderful character development.

Dark Humor For Dark Times

The three Alter sisters are determined to make a suicide pact on New Years Eve, as did the generations of Alters before them. The three sisters, who are all childless and single, reflect back in time through the generations of their family tree, which had a lot of relatives hanging from it. And with one sister terminally ill, they are determined to die together.

The sisters dark humor comes through no matter how bad the situation is or was.

Offbeat and funny,

A good listen with a very original sotryline.

Clever writing and poignant story--well read!

Three smart and sardonic sisters with a family tree full of unfortunate and/or unlikable ancestors decide the time has come to leave this world behind.This book is, in essence, their collective suicide note which explains their decision. As we root for the sisters we also realize that fate has certainly dealt them an unlucky hand. But we know other people have the capacity to triumph over adversity--why can't they? Each reader needs to come to his/her own conclusions on whether such an act is justified, but I surprised my own self at the end of this book with my empathy and understanding of these complex and likable characters.

The narrator puts on the droll smarmy voice to great effect--exactly as necessary-- and leaves it alone when it isn't needed. She does a great job.

The historical character of Lenz Alter, the great-grandfather, was so interesting that I looked him up to find out he was not real but he was completely based on the life story of Fritz Haber, who was friends with Einstein. I assume since the granddaughters were fictionalized, I guess the author needed to fictionalize Haber's name.

Pet peeve:There are three separate words (in Hebrew or Yiddish) that she was not coached to say correctly and I never understand why producers of these audiobooks just don't ask someone the correct pronunciation. When a listener familiar with these words hears them mangled, it really takes you out of the story and is irritating.

Strong Characters, Given Little to Do

Great character development. Great narration. The plot, not so much.

I did listen to it all... it picks up toward the end.

It sometimes seemed like the author had started two books and decided to merge them in a tenuous way since I didn't get the connection between the lives of the characters' grandparents meshing in a meaningful way with the plot's structure in the present and for the present day characters. The author stretches a "sins of the fathers ..." idea pretty far to get a narrative line going but the characters are far too sophisticated to have the reader/listener believe that it is a believable driver of action or plot.

Maybe in reading, instead of listening, it would hold a stronger temporal tie because I had a hard time keeping the grandparents generation straight. Being able to flip back a couple of pages often helps me orient myself.

Anyway, not a bad book. The writer needs a little more focus on the pace of unfolding the narrative. She made me care about the characters through insight into their thoughts and actions... but the plot just kept plodding along.

And my final warning... not really a spoiler but don't read anymore if this type of info (emotional tenor of the book,) ruins the listening experience for you:






I was hoping this was a darkly comic book.... when really it is just a dark sorta depressing story... not what I expected.