The Latecomer

The Latecomer ~ Jean Hanff Korelitz

The Oppenheimer triplets have disliked each other since birth. Perhaps before birth. They don’t want to spend time with each other, and for some reason find their home stifling and cannot wait to get away from that as well. Lewyn and Sally attend the same college, though they do not tell anyone that they have a sibling in the next dorm over, which becomes awkward when Lewyn begins dating Sally’s roommate. Harrison attends a small two year all men’s college that encourages his right wing narcissistic tendencies.

Their father, Salo, has a passion for modern, outsider, art, a passion his wife Johanna neither shares nor understands. Johanna finds what joy she can muster out of her children, and working (unsuccessfully) to have a loving family. They first met when she attended the funeral of a friend, a friend who died in a car accident with Salo behind the wheel, an accident for which he is unable to forgive himself. After several years of marriage, and a few more of trying unsuccessfully to have a child, they resort to in vitro fertilization. There are four eligible embryos, and they implant three and freeze one, just in case. The three are Lewyn, Sally, and Harrison. After they leave for college, Johanna decides that she wants one more chance at motherhood, so they have another baby, Phoebe, via a surrogate.

I loved this book. The characters are fierce and flawed, and some are deeply unlikable. The chapters alternate between characters, and we learn their heartbreaks, dreams, secrets, and passions. juggles the stories of each parent and child, weaving a tapestry of secrets, antipathies and private quests. It touches on class, race, sexism, politics, and art. Highly recommended.