This is the story of two families who lived across the street from each other for many years. Benjamin, a doctor, and his wife Mimi, are older. In 1985, their teenage children Sarah and Theo are involved in a life-changing event which results in the death of another teenager. Some years later, the Shankmans move in across the street, and in 1999 their son Waldo is born.

The novel is told non-chronologically, and focuses on certain years in which pivotal events affecting one or both of the families occur. The novel opens in 2010, on the night before Ben is moving away. On that same night, Waldo runs away. Over the years, there is a strange interconnection between what is happening in the lives of the members of the two families. We watch Sarah and Theo develop from teenagers to older middle-aged adults, Ben and Mimi age, and even Waldo grow up to adulthood over the course of the novel.

I actually liked the way the story is told non-chronologically, so that sometimes we are mystified and later entries clarify things. The author does a good job of peeling away layers as she tells the story. However, there were several things that just did not ring true for me. For example, after Sarah and Theo cause the death of another teenager, there are no consequences for them. Even beyond this, their parents, who are intelligent and responsible decide that the incident will never be spoken of again. The teens are not afforded counseling or therapy to deal with issues that may arise from guilt or grief. (The incident clearly involved at least potential criminal negligence). Another example that didn't ring true is that despite Ben's having saved Waldo's mother's life ( he rushed across the street in 1999 to deliver Waldo who was being born in an emergency sort of way), the families seem to thereafter ignore each other for the most part. Waldo didn't even know the story of his birth. How could this be? When I learned later in the book of this connection between Waldo and Ben, I had to go back and reread the opening (the night in 2010 when Ben is moving away and Waldo runs away), when the two meet on the street, and it is written as if neither knows anything at all about the other.

Shapiro is a somewhat prolific author, and this is a very recent book, so although this is the first book by her I have read, and to an extent I enjoyed it, I would have expected more inherent logic in her plot. I liked this enough that I went on to read another book by her, but I did have problems with it.

2 1/2 stars ( )

Great writing, and story. Slow paced and not much plot, but the characters are real and flawed. ( )

I am giving it three stars which does not mean it is a bad book. But for me it was a little too predictable and maybe had a little too much sentimentality. The prose seemed a little choppy to me but I suspect now that it is just the author's style. Once I got further into the book it flowed for me.

The story, while containing nothing super original, did serve the purposed of providing the framework needed for the characters to develop and for the reader to get to know them. For a book this size it worked very well.

Not my typical genre of book but I will from time to time jump into this end of the pool and always enjoy having done so. This time is no exception.
( )

Good start but then it loses focus. ( )

This is the first book I have read by Dani Shapiro, but it won't be the last. I was so absorbed in 'Signal Fires' that I read it in just a few days. I loved the book I read before it, and often I hesitate to start the next one. I'm glad I didn't this time.

This is the story of two families, the Wilfs and the Shenkmans. It takes place over 50 years, following the plot non-chronologically from the perspectives of each character. Dr. Ben Wilf and his wife Mimi seem to have it all: the house of their dreams and two great kids. But everything is thrown into turmoil when teenagers Theo and Sarah are in an automobile crash that takes the life of their passenger. Although the incident is officially ruled an accident, each family member is keeping guilty secrets that affect the rest of their lives.

Years later, a young couple, the Shenkmans, move in across the street. Neither family pays much attention to the other, but three chance meetings over the years create a bond between Ben and young Waldo Shenkman that will figure importantly in both of their lives.

I don't want to give away any more details. Just let me assure you that this is a remarkable, thoughtful, and moving novel that explores love, guilt, compassion, family, and the way in which we are shaped by the large and small events in our lives. It's beautifully written and now sits at the top of my Best Books of 2023 list. ( )