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gdro's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
amchica's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
At its core, Morningside Heights is a book about family and how they handle adversity. Pru came to NYC as a student ready to take on the world. She fell in love with her Shakespeare professor, Spence, who ended up leaving his wife and son for her. Fast forward 30 years, and we see Pru & Spence still living in NYC, while their daughter Sarah is out of state at med school. Pru notices that something is off with Spence. He is forgetting things, unable to pay attention and more. What does it mean when a man who is known for his great mind starts having cognitive issues?
This was a thoughtful read about family and memory. Each section is told from a different point in their lives and shows a different aspect of their relationship. Clearly this family has complicated relationships like many real world families and through their tensions, they still care for each other. Any book about someone suffering from dementia and/or Alzheimers is always gut wrenching for me and this one was as well.
What to listen to while reading...
I Wanna Be Me by Sex Pistols
The Only Living Boy in New York by Kishi Bashi
Hey Hey, My My by Neil Young
Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, and Nash
Broken Arrow by Buffalo Springfield
The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell
It's Too Late by Carole King
Tangled Up in Blue by Bob Dylan
I Against I by Bad Brains
Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
This was a thoughtful read about family and memory. Each section is told from a different point in their lives and shows a different aspect of their relationship. Clearly this family has complicated relationships like many real world families and through their tensions, they still care for each other. Any book about someone suffering from dementia and/or Alzheimers is always gut wrenching for me and this one was as well.
What to listen to while reading...
I Wanna Be Me by Sex Pistols
The Only Living Boy in New York by Kishi Bashi
Hey Hey, My My by Neil Young
Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, and Nash
Broken Arrow by Buffalo Springfield
The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell
It's Too Late by Carole King
Tangled Up in Blue by Bob Dylan
I Against I by Bad Brains
Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
okevamae's review against another edition
4.0
When grad student Pru goes to Columbia in 1976, she falls hard and fast for her dashing young professor, Spence Robin. They marry, have a child, and buy an apartment in Morningside Heights. But when after decades of marriage, Spence starts to show signs of early-onset Alzheimer’s, their whole family’s world is shaken.
Although the book revolves around the life and illness of Spence Robin, the story is not really about him. It’s about the people around him, and their relationships to him and to each other - the relationship between husband and wife, between parents and children, between brothers and sisters, and even between caretaker and patient. Some relationships are explored more deeply than others. Pru, Spence’s wife, is especially hard hit by the diagnosis. For all she insists she’s her own person, her whole life and identity revolves around her husband. When he gets sick, she faces something of an identity crisis. The book also delves deeply into the dysfunctional relationship that Arlo, Spence’s estranged son from his first marriage, has with his father, how their relationship got that way, and how Spence’s illness affects Arlo. These passages, in addition to the parts with Arlo and his half-sister Sarah, the parts with Spence’s nurse Ginny, and the parts with Pru’s paramour were the sections I found the most interesting.
3.5 stars, because although it’s a good book, I didn’t feel especially enthralled by the story, or even particularly attached to most of the characters.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Although the book revolves around the life and illness of Spence Robin, the story is not really about him. It’s about the people around him, and their relationships to him and to each other - the relationship between husband and wife, between parents and children, between brothers and sisters, and even between caretaker and patient. Some relationships are explored more deeply than others. Pru, Spence’s wife, is especially hard hit by the diagnosis. For all she insists she’s her own person, her whole life and identity revolves around her husband. When he gets sick, she faces something of an identity crisis. The book also delves deeply into the dysfunctional relationship that Arlo, Spence’s estranged son from his first marriage, has with his father, how their relationship got that way, and how Spence’s illness affects Arlo. These passages, in addition to the parts with Arlo and his half-sister Sarah, the parts with Spence’s nurse Ginny, and the parts with Pru’s paramour were the sections I found the most interesting.
3.5 stars, because although it’s a good book, I didn’t feel especially enthralled by the story, or even particularly attached to most of the characters.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
ametakinetos's review against another edition
3.0
A simply written, devastatingly realistic portrayal of a family learning to deal with the patriarch's early-onset Alzheimer's. It investigates what it truly means to be married for a lifetime, in sickness and in health.
It was good, but in that stomach-sinking way where you're not sure this is a story you want to reread or recommend or even discuss.
It was good, but in that stomach-sinking way where you're not sure this is a story you want to reread or recommend or even discuss.
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
5.0
A lovely book that is hard to put down. Don't be afraid of this novel because it deals with terrible losses from Alzheimer's; it's really about family, friends, respect and love. I wished it were longer, so I could stay with the characters for for at least another year.
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
Told in the distinct voices of Pru, Arlo and Sarah, this is the story of a family over several decades. Pru Steiner grew up in a mostly kosher family in Columbus but looked forward to breaking away. She ended up at Columbia for a master’s degree where she was courted by, and fell in love with, her young but ambitious and brilliant Shakespeare professor, Spence Robins. Pru’s life focus changed to one of wife and mother when she had their daughter Sarah. Spence also had a son, Arlo, from a previous partner. Arlo has a complicated relationship with his father’s family. Sarah is well loved and high achieving but not above competing for her father’s attention. Things start to unravel when Spence develops early-onset Alzheimer’s in his late 50s. Morningside Heights is an honest, poignant and occasionally humorous look at one family coping with the specifics of an awful illness. It was an honor to read this advanced reader copy. To be published in June 2021.
smamato2's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for early access to this book. Henkel develops characters that beg you to keep reading. Morning Side Heights is a book about family, love, and a little dysfunction. We explore relationships and the troubles and delight that develop between them. My heat went into each relationship presented and I related to them. The story follows husband and wife Spence and Pru and their daughter Sarah and Spence’s Son Arlo along with a cast of other characters. Spence contracts Alzheimer’s at an early age and each person reflects on their relationship with Spence and each must decide how to process the disease and the developments. This book was hard to put down and the characters are easy to become attached to.
bookward's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5