All I Love and Know: A Novel

Judith Frank

ISBN 10: 1483018229 ISBN 13: 9781483018225

Publisher: HarperCollins Audio and Blackstone Audio, 2014

Synopsis

With the storytelling power of Wally Lamb and the emotional fidelity of Lorrie Moore, this is the searing drama of an American family on the brink of dissolution, one that explores adoption, gay marriage, and true love lost and found

For years, Matthew Greene and Daniel Rosen have enjoyed a contented domestic life in Northampton, Massachusetts. Opposites in many ways, they have grown together and made their relationship work. But when they learn that Daniel's twin brother and sister-in-law have been killed in a Jerusalem bombing, their lives are suddenly, utterly transformed.

The deceased couple have left behind two young children, and their shocked and grieving families must decide who will raise six-year-old Gal and baby Noam. When it becomes clear that Daniel's brother and sister-in-law had wanted Matt and Daniel to be the children's guardians, the two men find themselves confronted by challenges that strike at the heart of their relationship. What is Matt's place in an extended family that does not completely accept him or the commitment he and Daniel have made? How do Daniel's complex feelings about Israel and this act of terror affect his ability to recover from his brother's death? And what kind of parents can these two men really be to children who have lost so much?

The impact that this instant new family has on Matt, Daniel, and their relationship is subtle and heartbreaking, yet not without glimmers of hope. They must learn to reinvent and redefine their bond in profound, sometimes painful ways. How does a family become strong enough to stay together and endure when its very basis has drastically changed? And are there limits to honesty or commitment--or love?

About this title

About the Author:

Judith Frank is a professor of English at Amherst College. She was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, has held residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell, and is the author of a previous novel, Crybaby Butch.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* This beautiful novel is old-fashioned in its approach, taking its sweet time to tell a tender love story between two flawed, good-hearted people, and yet it feels wholly fresh. Stylish graphic-designer Matthew Greene and cerebral magazine editor Daniel Rosen have made a quiet life for themselves in Northampton, Massachusetts. But that all changes when Daniel’s twin brother and his wife are killed in a terrorist bombing in Jerusalem. They leave behind two children, irrepressible six-year-old Gal and baby Noam. Daniel has been named the children’s guardian, much to the consternation of his parents and his brother’s in-laws, who are Holocaust survivors and Israeli citizens. As Daniel, numb with grief, deals with the funeral arrangements and the Israeli courts, where his guardianship is being contested, Matthew struggles with the responsibilities of instant parenthood and the fact that his lover and best friend seems entirely changed. In her second novel (after Crybaby Butch, 2004), Frank not only explores the complexities of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict but also presents the difficulties gay partners face in navigating the court system. Above all, though, this is a compassionate, utterly compelling story of how family members, torn apart by tragedy, must reach deep within themselves to meet their greatest challenge. --Joanne Wilkinson

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Audio and Blackstone Audio
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1483018229
• ISBN 13: 9781483018225
• Binding: Audio CD
• Number of pages: 1