There’s no shortage of reading material at my parents’ house—books stacked on tables, magazines tucked into corners, and more newspapers than anyone could reasonably finish. I inherited my mother’s love of reading, though not her attachment to the physical object. I’ve never been sentimental about paper. For me, it’s the ideas that matter—the stories we carry forward, not the stacks we leave behind.
Still, being home has a way of surfacing old tensions. It can feel claustrophobic, surrounded by decades of saved pages, and I’ve occasionally been tempted to quietly haul old newspapers to the curb in the dead of nights on one of my visits. But family life doesn’t work that way. You learn to live with what you cannot change—and recognize that pushing against those limits is rarely a good use of time.
That tension—between acceptance and frustration, between past and present—sits at the heart of Allegra Goodman’s latest novel, This Is Not About Us.
Credit: Momtrends mediaThe Premise: Family, Memory, and What Endures
The novel centers on three sisters in their 80s, moving between present-day New Jersey and Boston while tracing the lives of three generations. The narrative shifts across time, revealing how family dynamics evolve—and how often they don’t.
Goodman has a particular sensitivity to the rhythms of real life, especially around the dinner table. Her portrayal of sibling relationships feels especially sharp. It’s a dynamic we don’t see explored often enough, and she captures both the intimacy and the friction with precision.
What Works
At its best, this is a thoughtful character study about the patterns we inherit and the quiet effort it takes to break them. Watching younger generations attempt to grow beyond the limitations of those who came before them adds a hopeful undercurrent.
Goodman also excels in the details. Music, dance, and food are woven seamlessly into the narrative, grounding the story in a specific cultural world. The novel’s largely Jewish characters move through spaces like Tanglewood, the ballet, and the Gardner Museum—settings that feel deeply informed rather than decorative.
Where It Resonates Most
The themes here—family loyalty, long-held grudges, and the slow work of change—are enduring. But what brings them to life are the small, specific moments: conversations, traditions, and the ways people show love imperfectly.
Verdict
If you’re drawn to character-driven fiction that explores sibling bonds and the complexity of family relationships over time, This Is Not About Us is a rewarding read. It’s less about plot and more about emotional truth—and the ways we learn, slowly, to live with one another.
One-line takeaway: A nuanced family portrait that finds meaning in the spaces between generations.
For fans of: Multigenerational stories, sibling dynamics, and literary character studies
Where I read it: At my parents’ house, surrounded by decades of stories—some finished, some still waiting to be let go
You can find this—and everything else I’m reading this year—on my running 2026 book list.
Get the full list of books from 2025 here.
The post This Is Not About Us Book Review appeared first on Mom Trends.
​Â
