Equal Affections is the eloquent, powerful novel of a funny, loving, tragic, and complex family whose indomitable matriarch, Louise Cooper, has had cancer for 20 years. Battling both the slow withdrawal of her husband and the ravages of her disease, Louise must realize that even the kindness of her children will not save her. "A superb modern novelist of feeling."--Kirkus Reviews.
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From Publishers Weekly
Leavitt's second novel follows the four members of the Cooper family through the mother's illness and death. "In understated, perfectly targeted prose, Leavitt illuminates the ordinariness of his characters, giving them and their sorrows and joys a long-lasting afterglow," observed PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
The latest novel by the author of Family Dancing (8/84) and The Lost Language of Cranes (9/15/84) examines the complex relationships of the Cooper family. Family matriarch Louise Cooper, mother of gay siblings April and Danny, suffers one medical malady after another, while Nat, her computer scientist husband, enjoys a long-term affair on the side. As Louise's condition deteriorates, tensions mount and family members attempt to define and justify their conflicting feelings. Leavitt's plot twists and turns around various relationshipsof Nat and Lousie, Danny and his lover Walter, Louise and her polio-crippled sister Eleanorand April's decision to have a baby while maintaining her tremendous appeal as a star of women's music. A compassionate, moving work.Kevin M. Roddy, Oakland P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
THE FIRST TIME Louise thought she was dying she called Danny and April to the side of her hospital bed and said, "Listen, kids, there's something I want to say to you both." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
THE FIRST TIME Louise thought she was dying she called Danny and April to the side of her hospital bed and said, "Listen, kids, there's something I want to say to you both." Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I thought this novel was quite touching and poignant. Leavitt writes with empathy and is able to delve into the different perspectives of each character. He employs restraint in his writing yet it effectively brings out the emotion of the story.
However I thought that this reserved style may be hampering at times, for example the part where the family just witnessed the passing away of Louise. I was surprised that Leavitt didn't explore their emotions further on a deeper level other than just shedding tears; maybe because everyone, including Leavitt himself, was getting a bit tired of Louise's sickness by this stage that no one has the energy for much introspection. I just felt this part was rather 'wooden'.
But by and large, this is an engrossing novel and a good read. The weaving of the characters' lives was well developed and the non-linear progression was a good complement to the story.
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Thud, thud, thud went the dialogue; clang, clang, clang went the prose.
I liked the story quite a bit. It was rich with possibilities: a mother who won't stop dying as she questions her religion toward the end; a yuppified gay couple (one of whom is her son) that lives in the suburbs; a lesbian-questioning-pregnant women's music performer (the mother's daughter); a little bit of online sex; a sympathetic yet philandering father/husband. Yet it didn't work. The dialogue is so dreary, so heavy, that it reminded me of high school creative writing class. Page 244, in which April finds her way to New York and meets her brother in the airport exemplifies simplistic, sterile storytelling with truly horrendous, flat dialogue. Why can't Leavitt do his somewhat gripping story and genuinely touching plot more good than that? Oy. This novel needs a writer.
Format:Paperback
Not a bad read. The storyline kept me intersted; however I'm not sure if that was because I kept thinking that there wourld be some really profound emotional connection with Danny and/or April on the next page. . . ., but it never happened. By the time I finished the book I felt neither cheated out of my time nor extremely rewarded for the effort. We'll see how the next book by Leavitt works for me.
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