Summary

The foreword describes the absence of a bond between the Oppenheimer triplets: “Harrison (the smart one), Lewyn (the weird one), or Sally (the girl)” (8). That was until an unspecified event brought the family closer together. The children were raised in Brooklyn. The novel is narrated by one of the Oppenheimer children.

Chapter 1 flashes back to the 70s, when the triplets’ parents, Salo Oppenheimer and Johanna Hirsch, met. The pair meet at the funeral of Mandy, Salo’s girlfriend. It is held at a synagogue in New Jersey. She died while he was driving her; his Jeep hit a rock in the road and flipped over. Mandy was known for her extraordinary beauty and kindness. On the other hand, Johanna comes from a middle-class Jewish family with an unremarkable brother, Bobby, and a feminist sister, Debbie. Joanna and Salo meet again at a...