Release Date: May 31st, 2022

Genre(s): Adult Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher: Celadon Books

Pages: 448

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Content Warnings:

Cheating, deceased family member, homophobia, infertility, racism, religious shaming

Thank you to Celadon Books and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis

The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents Salo and Johanna, under tragic circumstances, to their triplets born during the early days of IVF. As children, the three siblings – Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally – feel no strong familial bond and cannot wait to go their separate ways, even as their father becomes more distanced and their mother more desperate. When the triplets leave for college, Johanna, faced with being truly alone, makes the decision to have a fourth child. What role will the “latecomer” play in this fractured family?

A complex novel that builds slowly and deliberately, The Latecomer touches on the topics of grief and guilt, generational trauma, privilege and race, traditions and religion, and family dynamics. It is a profound and witty family story from an accomplished author, known for the depth of her character studies, expertly woven storylines, and plot twists.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Latecomer is a layered and immersive literary novel about three siblings, desperate to escape one another, and the upending of their family by the late arrival of a fourth.

Review

The Latecomer caught my eye with the family dynamic of four kids, one being born 17 years after the others. Which is exactly where I fit in my family, but my family is nothing like this one.

The Latecomer is a heavily layered book following how parents Johanna and Salo met in times of tragedy, and how, despite these circumstances, were not enough to hold their family together. We primarily follow the lives of the triplets and the conflict that develops further when another is on the way.

Character-driven stories featuring flawed characters all around very much fits what I’m looking for in a book, so I’m not surprised I enjoyed this one. There’s an incredible amount of work done to set the stage for this book, and I found myself thoroughly invested through all of it.

I do wish that the last third of the book had the same amount of depth. There’s a lot that’s left to the end to be revealed, and while it didn’t feel totally abrupt, I really liked the slower pace at the beginning. There were also some really good discussions around identity (especially in terms of race and religion) that were also discussed in a greater frequency at the end that I wish would have been spread out differently.

But aside from a few things here and there, this was a solid read. I know that the author also wrote The Plot, which seems like a jump in genres – but I’m definitely curious about her other works considering said change.
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