Just Jennifer

The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg (Grand Central, October 2012)

This portrait of a seemingly benign family as thirty years of living has finally unraveled: Edie and Richard Middlestein have raised their two children in the suburbs of Chicago, Robin and Benny making it through seemingly unscathed.  One constant throughout their lives has been Edie’s obsession with food: when she is not stuffing her face, she is thinking about her next meal.  As Edie’s life becomes at risk because of her obesity, she finds that Richard has left her and her somewhat estranged daughter and her perfect daughter-in-law Rachelle have begun making half-hearted attempts to keep their eye on Edie in order to try and save her.  Robin is struggling with her life and the choices she has made, Rachelle to keep up the façade of a perfect family as her rhythmically challenged twins prepare for their b’nai mitzvah and laid back Benny lets it all happen.  How the family get did this way and how did Edie come to tip the scales at over 300 pounds, is anyone to blame or is Edie’s weight symbolic of a family in crisis.  An good humored, honest, open look at families, how they appear to the outside world and the lies we tell each other to keep them going.