Love, Work, Children: A Novel

Book Description

Morningside Heights, a Manhattan neighborhood sandwiched between Columbia University and the Hudson River, is home to an eclectic mix of academics, struggling artists, and rooted families. In this distinctive world, Peter Frankel, a successful partner in a prestigious law firm, lives a seemingly contented life with his talented wife and his two Ivy League—educated children.

Yet in middle age Peter finds himself discontent. His wife’s narrowness and her preoccupation with appearances leaves him cold, his job does not fulfill his creative bent, and he fears that his children, Susan and Louis, have grown into skeptical young adults who shun marriage and stability.

So when Peter’s wife is badly hurt in a car accident and lies in a coma, he finds himself guiltily relieved–and newly drawn toward his children as they too struggle with ambivalent feelings about the mother who’s never really shown them much love. As Susan, a cerebral doctoral student, becomes unhappily involved with an aspiring playwright and Louis is caught up in a futile pursuit of an ambitious journalist, Peter’s own quiet life is shaken up, and longings he has stifled for years come rumbling to the surface.

Freed from his wife’s judgments, Peter throws himself into his greatest pleasure, the work he does for a foundation that funds offbeat artistic projects. And as his passion for this work ignites, so does his desire for another woman. But the stubborn morality that has steered Peter’s life is a force to be reckoned with–and one from which he may never entirely escape.

Love, Work, Children is a profoundly insightful novel about two generations and the colorful urban world they inhabit. A superb portrayal of one of New York’s exceptional neighborhoods, this is a story, ultimately, about the self-imposed obstacles to true happiness–and a testament to the joy one can find in overcoming them.

Customer Reviews:

Another excellent book.......2007-02-16

I wondered if this book would be as good as the author's previous book, Morningside Heights, and it was -- maybe slightly better. Of course, some readers may wonder why one should care about the "sophisticated", self-absorbed people of Morningside Heights. My answer is that it is a lot of fun to read about quirky people and the reading is easy with a happy ending, so why not have a good read without too much work. I look forward to the third book in this purported trilogy.

worst book I've read all year.......2006-12-22

Mendelson's largest crime in this novel is that she violates the principle we all should've learned in middle school - in writing, show, don't tell. Mendelson states plot elements and charater development as fact, rather than letting them emerge through detail and action. Worse, her characters are wooden and not believable. The novel left me unsatisfied, unconvinced, and angry that I'd wasted my time. I've never felt compelled to write a book review before, but this book was so terrible, I had to put out a warning. Stay away.

A Rare Novel.......2006-10-29

Cheryl Mendelson is a rare thing: an erudite author who neither underestimates the intelligence of her readers nor uses her knowledge simply to show off. While her love of music, books and ideas are clear throughout the book, they serve only to enhance the story, which is populated by interesting and relatable characters. I recognized some of the people in her book, recognized myself in several of them, and truly cared about them and their struggles.

This novel was not only a pleasure to read, but gave me new insights--about New York, New Yorkers, and my own life in this city. If that sounds unusual and rare, it's because it is.

An absorbing, leisurely delight.......2006-08-11

I am writing this before I am finshed reading the book--but close. I very much enjoyed "Morningside Heights", and this book is its equal. I love the fact that although these are modern day stories, the author takes an in depth, leisuely approach to exploring character development, similar to that of novels written in the nineteenth century. Some of the reviews here have criticized the author because the readers found the characters to be somehow morally despicable, with no redeeming qualities. I did not find that to be the case at all. These are complex individuals, with strengths and weaknesses. I could recognize myself and others in them. If at times there is a touch of the old-fashioned about this novel (and only a touch), it felt to me refreshing and reassuring. I truly enjoyed both of this author's novels. I understand that a trilogy is planned.....is it possible that the author would consider a quartet--or even a quintet??

she has great cred; law, ph.d.......2006-07-04

i read, skimmed hoping to find something worthwhile. alas, i had just read paul auster's "the Brooklyn Follies" it has half the pages and yet it has more heft. i was in the mood to waste time and that's what i did. the cover photograph, though, was really beautiful.

Average customer rating:

Heartwarming...
Utterly satisfying
Condescending and Contrived
Don't waste your time
Yes and no on Morningside Heights

Morningside Heights: A Novel
Cheryl Mendelson
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0375760687
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Book Description

Following the tremendous success of her first book, a nonfiction work on housekeeping that became a surprise bestseller, Cheryl Mendelson brings to her debut novel the same intensely readable style that made Home Comforts so popular. In the spirit of Anthony Trollope, she roots her story very much in a specific time and place—1999, in an old-fashioned New York City neighborhood that’s becoming rapidly gentrified—and the enormously engaging result resembles a twentieth-century version of The Way We Live Now.

Anne and Charles Braithwaite have spent their entire married life in a sedate old apartment building in Morningside Heights, a northern Manhattan neighborhood filled with intellectual, artistic souls like themselves, who thrive on the area’s abundant parks, cultural offferings, and reasonably priced real estate. The Braithwaites, musicians with several young children, are at the core of a circle of friends who make their living as writers, psychiatrists, and professors. But as the novel opens, their comfortable life is being threatened as a buoyant economy sends newly rich Wall Street types scurrying northward in search of good investments and more space. At the same time, the Braithwaites weather the difficult love lives of their friends, and all of the characters confront their fears that the institutions and social values that have until now provided them with meaning and stability—science, religion, the arts—are in increasing decline. Though the group clings to the rituals and promises of such institutions, the Braithwaites’ imminent departure sends shock waves through their community. As the family contemplates the impossible—a move to the suburbs—their predicament represents the end of a cultured kind of city life that middle-class families can no longer afford.

This intelligent and captivating social chronicle is the first of a trilogy of novels about Morningside Heights; readers sure to be drawn in by Mendelson’s habit-forming prose have much more to look forward to.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Heartwarming..........2007-04-26

A couple other reviewers spoke of how they missed the characters when they had finished reading the book. That was precisely how i felt upon finishing morningside heights. I missed Anne, Charles, Merrit and Morris. Isn't that what a good novel is supposed to do?... Capture your heart, that is.

I gave it four stars because it was a little difficult for me to understand the whole "i was pretending to hate you but i really loved you all the time" thing that was btwn them... I realised that they were going to get together by the end of the novel...one sort of expected it. But i honestly wished that there was a better grown-up reason for their eventual attachment. This after-all, is such a grown-up book.

Notwithstanding, this was a really good book. C.M deserves her accolades.

Utterly satisfying.......2006-08-14

Hatred is not the first emotion that one usually associates
with a favorite book, but for the first 250 or so pages of this 336-page
book, I was convinced that I did, indeed, heartily dislike Cheryl
Mendelson's Morningside Heights. The "typical" Morningside Heights
characters that populate this novel can be extremely irritating, with
their relentless self-made problems, inveterate narcissism, and attendant
(and tedious) therapy sessions. Despite all of the promise for annoyance
that Mendelson's first novel initially serves up, the author manages to
offer something wholly ingenious and even brave: completely unadulterated
optimism. I have yet to read a modern literary novel written for adults
that believes so unrelentingly in everything turning out just as it
should, and it is that quality that makes Morningside Heights one of the
more original and memorable books I have read in quite a long time.
Optimism does not normally strike me as a remarkable, or even necessarily
admirable, quality, but Mendelson wields it without irony, shame, or
sentiment, and the result is a story that is deeply satisfying in an
old-fashioned way. Mendelson's application of a type of storyline
(complete with a mystery, a buried treasure, and everyone getting exactly
what they deserve in the end) derived from classic children's literature
to adult literary fiction is absolutely inspired. Morningside Heights
gives us what we all want: profound satisfaction dressed up in literary
ingenuity.

Condescending and Contrived.......2005-08-13

I don't know which I hated more: the insipid plot or the obnoxious, condescending tone of the author. Ms. Mendelson appears to be quite proud of the breadth of her knowledge as she never misses an opportunity to pepper the narrative with long, tedious paragraphs on subjects that don't always have direct relevance. Perhaps for showcasing purposes, she felt the need to include them? Also disturbing are the main character's shopping expeditions for caviar, imported cheeses and chocolates, and greens "flown in that morning", etc. while she and her husband are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. And taking this to an even higher level of asurdity, she claims that their dinner guests (academics and preachers) expect such fare! The ending is ridiculous - and one that will have some NYC natives rolling on the floor laughing. On a final note, if you live in the suburbs, you will be livid when you read Ms. Mendelson's depiction of them. Truly, I find it difficult to understand how this book was published and that it received any praise at all. Had I been an editor, it wouldn't have seen the light of day.

Don't waste your time.......2005-07-26

The premise of this novel has great promise -- a story about the lives of an extended group of family and friends who live on the Upper West Side.

Unfortunately, the execution falls short. The story is slow moving and stilted. The characters are poorly developed. No matter how hard I tried, I just could not make myself care about the lives of these people. The pages and pages of rhetorical philosophical ramblings did not help.

This book is definitely not a page turner. I forced myself to keep reading it and it never got better. I would recommend that you not waste your time trying to muddle through this.

Yes and no on Morningside Heights.......2005-07-18

There are many positive things about this novel. The basic idea of exploring a community and how it shapes, and enhances, the lives of its cultured and intellectual residents is appealing. The characters have ideas and some depth. It's nice to see children depicted in a more or less realistic way. It's also nice to see Mendelson further develop her theme of domesticity and its power over the moods and well-being of those who experience it. Reading Home Comforts encouraged me to invest a little more in the domestic realm myself, although often my goals outstrip my grasp.

On the other hand, the book shows major weaknesses that perhaps are characteristic of beginning novelists. Basically, the plot is clunky. The characters' problems are developed and then--ridiculously--solved by means of an expedient that no one could possibly believe in. They inherit an apartment? In Manhattan? From a neighbor they barely knew? Give me a break!

I also felt that Mendelson wandered far from the economic realism of Austen or Trollope. We're supposed to believe that a family with three children, and expensive tastes, living on the income of one moderately successful person (moderately successful in THE ARTS) is able to send two children to private school and plans to send a third to a costly preschool? In Manhattan private schools cost about $25,000 a year, when all costs are factored in. So, for the two girls, we're at $50,000. Plus, they're planning on a $12,000 a year preschool for Stuart. We're at $62,000 just with tuition! And don't they have to plan for college? This is wildly unrealistic. Let's not forget that their domestic ambitions also require spending a lot on fancy foodstuffs. Plus, their cultural ambitions require much money for artistic endeavors, including expensive musical instruments for their children and private lessons.

I can't imagine how this could be possible, given the economic situation that Mendelson outlines. Given that she sets the situation up this way, though, it's even more ridiculous to imagine that this family will be driven from Manhattan to the hated suburbs in part because of a coop special assessment. Such assessments are time-limited. Anne couldn't take on an extra music student or two a week? She has a mom living in the area who adores her children. Her mom couldn't look after Stuart during those few extra hours? Her older two kids are already in school, but she can't step up her (highly flexible) work endeavors a notch? Instead, the family has to bag it and move to the suburbs?

And why can't they move to Brooklyn? This is never explained. I'm forced to conclude they couldn't move to Brooklyn because it wouldn't work for the plot. There are many cultured, musical, and intellectual people in Brooklyn. This family is depicted as owning a reasonable apartment in Manhattan. If sold, that could easily enable them to buy a very decent apartment with reasonable maintenance in Brooklyn. Why wouldn't they do that, instead of (inexplicably) going to Putnam county, which would require the family's earner, Charles, to commute an hour and a half each way every time he needed to go to the city for his job? This is absurd.

I believe Putnam county figures in the novel only so Mendelson can depict the sharpest possible contrast between the culture of the Braithwaites and the bumpkins who live in Putnam County. They are obese, they are inspid, and they don't even accept that the Braithwaite's daughter, with her appalling academic record, would automatically outrank the local yokels in terms of the school tracking system.

Sad to say, I think Mendelson is a snob. She had to set the novel up this way so that she could portray the full heartbreak of the threatened loss of community by a family so culturally deserving as the Braithwaites. Frankly, they might have learned something by seeing how the scorned people of Putnam managed their lives. But no, they're never forced to do this, because they inherit an apartment--and find the proof of their inheritance in a potato bin! This really is not a good ending. The plot dynamics are labored and it's hard to maintain interest when the reader can see a mile away what's going to happen.

To return to the positive, though, Mendelson does have a strong point of view on modern life and how it can best be lived and she situates her characters in a community that, as others have noted, almost becomes a character itself. In my view, in her future work she should think harder about the plot and try to find mechanisms for advancing the story that don't short circuit her characters' growth by solving their problems without requiring much, or anything, of them.

Average customer rating:

Exhaustive architectural history of major institutions
A HISTORICAL ODE TO A BEAUTIFUL OLD NEIGHBORHOOD
Superb Valentine To A Beautiful Neighborhood
A must for anyone interested in N.Y.C. and urban history.

Morningside Heights
Andrew S. Dolkart
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Criticism | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 023107851X

Book Description

Morningside Heights, the institutional heart of New York City, is also one of the city's most architecturally distinguished neighborhoods. The high plateau that forms Morningside Heights is geographically isolated within the city and remained largely undeveloped even as neighboring Harlem and the Upper West Side became prestigious residential communities. At the end of the nineteenth century, institutions relocated to the plateau where sizable plots were available at a convenient distance from the built-up city. In 1887 Episcopal Bishop Henry Potter announced plans for the construction of a great cathedral at the edge of the plateau. The cathedral was soon followed by Columbia College and St. Luke's Hospital, which contemplated grand complexes, and by newer institutions such as Barnard College and Teachers College that were intent on establishing a presence in the rapidly growing city. Thus, Morningside Heights became indelibly associated with New York's educational, medical, and religious foundations, and was appropriately dubbed "the Acropolis of New York."

In this extensively illustrated book, Andrew S. Dolkart explores the architecturally varied complexes built by these organizations. He traces the successes and failures of each building project, as trustees and supporters struggled to raise funds in order to construct great campuses in a city where residents were not always generous in their support of such endeavors. Commissioning designs from some of city's and the nation's leading architects, the Morningside Heights institutions created a richly diverse ensemble of buildings.

The book tells the stories of the excitement surrounding the initial plans for an Episcopal cathedral and the ultimate failure of this grandiose project; the efforts of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to build a rival nondenominational church (Riverside Church); the development of Charles McKim's inspired designs for Columbia's campus; the efforts of Barnard and Teachers College to build impressive campuses adjacent to Columbia; and the later projects of Union and Jewish theological seminaries and the Institute of Musical Art (late the Julliard School) to erect buildings that would be part of the larger institutional concentration, but world provide each with a unique architectural identity.

Dolkart also traces the history of the surrounding residential neighborhood, providing the first comprehensive analysis of the design and construction the early-twentieth-century speculative apartment houses that typify so many New York neighborhoods. Based on extensive research and incorporating more than 200 photographs, Morningside Heights will appeal to anyone interested in architecture, urban development, or the history of New York City, as well as those associated with the neighborhood or its institutions.

Customer Reviews:

Exhaustive architectural history of major institutions.......2005-01-19

This book is NOT an architectural survey, per se. It does not attempt to catalogue all the historic or important structures of the neighborhood as, say, an AIA Guide does. Instead, it considers in some detail the architectural history of the neighborhood and its major institutions. We know which ones: Columbia University, Barnard College, Riverside Church, Union Theological Seminary, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and St. Luke's Hospital. As a tool for practicing architects or as a source for architectural historians, this book is about as good as they get. As a piece to enjoy for the general, curious reader it's a bit academic. Photographs are all black and white, and are technical and pragmatic rather than artistic.

One more point: The narrative seems largely absent of knee-jerk political correctness and fadish multi-culturalist rhetoric, which is refreshing. Thus, the author has stopped at nothing in order to maintain the highest academic and scholarly standards in the book. Well done, in that regard.

A HISTORICAL ODE TO A BEAUTIFUL OLD NEIGHBORHOOD.......2004-10-29

I bought this book because I was born and raised in Morningside Heights. I moved away years ago and now live in another state but I often feel nostalgia for my old and very unique neighborhood. I feel very fortunate to have grown up in the shadow of the Cathedral of St. John The Divine and surrounded by the three great public parks, Central, Morningside, and Riverside. Central Park is famous and Riverside is fairly known but very few outside the area know of the beauty of Morningside Park and Morningside Drive. This book is filled with photos and illustrations and tons of history. I recommend it to students of history of N.Y.C., architecture, and anyone interested in learning about the lesser known areas of New York.

Superb Valentine To A Beautiful Neighborhood.......2000-01-30

Morningside Heights is one of America's greatest unknown architectural treasures. Most people who didn't go to Columbia University or one of its other institutions of learning don't even know that it exists. But this half-square-mile of Manhattan boasts classic old-fashioned streetscapes, dotted with architectural monuments, that compare to the best Europe has to offer. Mr. Dolkhart's book on how it all got built is comprehensive, flawlessly accurate, well illustrated, and informed by a cultivated urban sensibility from which we all can learn. I am the webmaster of this neighborhood's website.

A must for anyone interested in N.Y.C. and urban history........1998-10-24

This attractive book, with over 250 historical photographs, tells the story of a unique neighborhood in New York City. Dolkart traces its development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from a rural, undeveloped tract with an insane asylum and an orphanage into the home of some of the nation's most important educational and religious institutions (Columbia, Barnard and Teachers College, Union and Jewish Theological seminaries, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Riverside Church, and the Institute of Music and Art (later Juilliard and now Manhattan School of Music). The architectural history is meticulously documented, tracking the invovement of the major architects of the period in the neighborhood's transformation. The book also explores the involvement of New York's wealthiest families in and the rivalries that drove this neighborhood's development. Dolkart also for the first time documents the growth of Morningside Heights as the first middle-class apartment building neighborhood in New York City. His insights into this process help all those interested New York City and other urban centers in this country in understanding the fascinating ways in which important neighborhoods take shape and influence the future history of their city and the nation. This is a must for all those who love and study New York City, and urban and architectural history and development.

Battle for Morningside Heights Why Students Rebel

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Battle for Morningside Heights Why Students Rebel
Roger Kahn
Manufacturer: Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GZB5B2

Mastering McKim's Plan: Columbia's First Century on Morningside Heights

Average customer rating:

A Great Book

Mastering McKim's Plan: Columbia's First Century on Morningside Heights
Barry Bergdoll , and Janet Parks
Manufacturer: Miriam & IRA D. Wallach Art Gallery
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

United States | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1884919057

Book Description

Drawing on an abundance of materials from Columbia's Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, this book charts the architectural trajectory of this famed institution and celebrates the centennial of architect Charles Follen McKim's enduring vision of a spatially unified, architecturally integrated urban university.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Book.......2003-11-05

Columbia University is one of the greatest classical urban spaces in this country, and this book is a detailed and well-researched discussion of how it came to be. Fascinating if you're into its topic. Also see Andrew Dolkhart's book on Morningside Heights.

To the Lesser Heights of Morningside: A Memoir

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To the Lesser Heights of Morningside: A Memoir
Rexford Tugwell
Manufacturer: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Theory | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0812278275

The Battle for Morningside Heights, Why Students Rebel

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The Battle for Morningside Heights, Why Students Rebel
Roger & Helfer, al (editors) Kahn
Manufacturer: William Morrow and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000L323AG

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The battle for Morningside Heights;: Why students rebel
Roger Kahn
Manufacturer: W. Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

United States | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006CPEL2

Columbia University and Morningside Heights (NY) (Postcard History Series)

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Columbia University and Morningside Heights (NY) (Postcard History Series)
Michael V. Susi
Manufacturer: Arcadia Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

Outgrowing its remarkably shortlived location in midtown Manhattan, Columbia College moved uptown in the mid1890s, not only transforming itself into an urban university under university president Seth Low, but also creating an urban campus guided by Charles McKim, William Rutherford Mead, and Stanford White's master plan. The university became a major constituent of what would be described as New York's Acropolis on Morningside Heights. It was preceded in this endeavor by the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and St. Luke's Hospital, and it was soon joined by Barnard College, Teachers College, and Union Theological Seminary, among others. The arrival of the Interborough Rapid Transit Subway in 1904 spurred residential and retail development.

The Short List: Morningside Heights 2004

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The Short List: Morningside Heights 2004
The Short List
Manufacturer: Survival Guide Media, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0972316655

Book Description

Part directory, part guidebook and part "survival guide", The Short List series is the ultimate resource for residents and long-term visitors alike. The Short List is the only guide that combines the opinions of neighborhood residents, qualified experts and in-depth editorial analysis to determine the best businesses and services in over 175 categories. Whether you are looking for a dry cleaner that won't poke holes in your shirts, a neighborhood café or the most reliable car service to take you to the airport, The Short List is the only book you need to own. This edition is ideal for residents of Manhattan's Morningside Heights/Columbia University neighborhood, from 103rd Street to 125th Street. The Short List: Morningside Heights is used by all incoming students of Columbia Business School and Columbia Law School.

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Over 100 works from Tudor and Stuart eras to Victorian times. Examples by Issac Oliver, Cooper, Smart, Cosway and Engleheart. Part of Ashmolean Museum's handbook series.

Book Description

This book of photographs taken in Bengal during the period 1875 - 1915 aims to introduce a new dimension to the experience of colonialism in Bengal, and reconstructs a history of growing urban Bengali middle-class society.

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These essays focus on the relations between people and the planet's life supporting resources, the symptoms of imbalance in this relationship, and ways to establish a sustainable equilibrium. Bringing together not only scientific insight but also politics, economics, poetry, culture and the human spirit, the book is invaluable for understanding the geographical variations of environmental impact by human populations.

Customer Reviews:

I now understand what is really meant by "sustainable.".......1999-04-21

This book is perfect for the next generation. The generation that will now have to solve the problems plaguing the globe. People and their Planet explains the causal relationship between population and the environment. It is a very useful tool for all those studying the environment or the effects of demography or anyone who wishes to enlightened themselves. It is very clearly written and very informative.

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