Reviewed by Max
Find in catalog | Read more reviews
In postwar Brooklyn, the Nowak Piano Company is an American success story. There's just one problem: the Nowak's only son, David, stuggles with neuroses. When David inherits the company at just 18, his inability to cope with responsibility pushes him to sell the business and travel around the world before returning to the states. Told from multiple perpectives, the story follows David, his wife Daisy, and his two children as the family struggles to maintain their fragile coexistence in the valleys of Northern California.
This title was an absolute page-turner for me; I found myself whizzing through this in a single day regardless of the intense content. Readers should be advised that this book contains several heavy and mature topics like suicide, neglect, and sexual assault as the Nowak heirs are forced to confront the invisible inheritance of their abuse. Rated one of NPR's best books of 2016, The Border of Paradise is a startlingly detailed portrait of how severe mental illness, when left unchecked, can unravel the intricate threads that bind family together.
Rating 4.5/5 stars
Read-a-likes:
- I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt