Something Red - by Jennifer Gilmore (Paperback)

About the Book

... ambitious and provocative, more Molotov cocktail than standard-issue domestic drama, raising profound questions about loyalty, independence, love of family and country ...--O, the Oprah Magazine

Book Synopsis

In Washington, D.C., life inside the Goldstein home is as tumultuous as the swiftly changing times. In 1979, the Cold War is waning and the age of protest has come and gone, leaving a once radical family to face a new set of challenges. Something Red is a masterly novel that unfurls with suspense, humor, and insight.

Dennis, whose government job often takes him to Moscow, struggles both to succeed in a career he doesn't quite believe in and to live up to his father's leftist legacy. Sharon, a caterer for the Washington elite, joins a cultlike group in search of the fulfillment she once felt. Happy-go-lucky Benjamin is heading off to college, there to experience an awakening of social conscience, and sixteen-year-old Vanessa finds a cure for alienation in D.C.'s hardcore music scene. As each of them follows separate trajectories of personal protest and compromise along the edge of a new decade, radical traditions long dormant in their family awaken once again, with shocking, far-reaching results.

A poignant story of husbands and wives, parents and children, activists and spies,

From the Back Cover

"Ambitious and provocative, more Molotov cocktail than standard-issue domestic drama." O, The Oprah Magazine

In Washington, D.C., life inside the Goldstein home is as tumultuous as the swiftly changing times. In 1979, the Cold War is waning and the age of protest has come and gone, leaving a once radical family to face new challenges. Dennis, whose government job often takes him to Moscow, struggles both to succeed in a career he doesn t quite believe in and to live up to his father s leftist legacy. Sharon, a caterer for the Washington elite, joins a cultlike group in search of the fulfillment she once felt. Happy-go-lucky Benjamin is heading off to college, there to experience an awakening of social conscience, and sixteen-year-old Vanessa finds a cure for alienation in D.C. s hardcore music scene. As each of them follows a separate trajectory of personal protest and compromise along the edge of a new decade, radical traditions long dormant in their family awaken once again, with shocking, far-reaching results.

A poignant story of husbands and wives, parents and children, activists and spies, Something Red is a masterly novel that unfurls with suspense, humor, and insight.

"These characters are crafted with care, conviction, and a little self-consciousness which seems just as it ought to be." Los Angeles Times

"Rich and entertaining." Vanity Fair

A New York Times notable book of 2010

JENNIFER GILMORE s first novel, Golden Country, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2006 and a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She currently teaches at Eugene Lang College the New School for Liberal Arts and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit www.jennifergilmore.net"