Goldberg Variations (Isaacs) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Imperious Gloria Garrison, spurned by her best friend and heir to a multimillion-dollar beauty makeover business, summons the three grandchildren she barely knows to the Santa Fe, N.Mex., headquarters of Glory Inc. to pick her successor among them. But neither feisty Legal Aid lawyer Raquel—daughter of Gloria’s favorite son and his Puerto Rican social worker wife, nor Raquel’s cousins—irresistible PR man Matt and big sister Daisy, a Paramount Studios mogul—want anything to do with their mean grandma’s enterprise. The King Lear implications are not lost on the crusty 79-year-old CEO, who broods that Lear’s “two bad daughters, at least, want the kingdom,” calling her own unruly progeny “my thankless flesh and blood.” Prolific veteran Isaacs (Any Place I Hang My Hat) creates a deliciously wicked tale of family dysfunction—as interpreted in alternating chapters by the salty Gloria and her angry grandkids as they endure a long weekend of bitter recriminations that turns abruptly civil after a tour of Glory Inc. and a good makeover. Despite the sluggish pace and improbable reconciliation, time spent with this cheeky and unruly crew is anything but wasted.
Publishers Weekly


Gloria Garrison, 79, has a plan for the future of her booming Santa Fe-based beauty business, Glory, Inc. Having alienated her former partner and successor, she decides to invite her twentysomething grandchildren to tour the business and learn the ropes. Since Gloria wrote them all out of her will, Daisy, Matthew, and Raquel Goldberg are shocked when they realize the motives behind Gloria's invitation: one of them will inherit Glory, while the rest will receive nothing. What Gloria does not anticipate is a collective answer of "not interested." Verdict: Told from the varying viewpoints of every member of the family, Isaacs's latest is full of sharp observations on its relationships. Fans of her previous novels (e.g., Close Relations; As Husbands Go) and of comparable authors such as Nancy Thayer will enjoy the comic wit of Isaacs's latest.—Mara Dabrishus, Ursuline Coll., Pepper Pike, OH
Library Journal


An aging entrepreneur invites her three grandchildren, whom she barely knows, for a weekend visit so she can choose which one will take over her company.... Gloria is not only unlikable, but unbearably boring. Her endless conversation is pretentious without one twinkle of wit. The grandkids are more likable, but equally dull. Few readers will follow them to the contrived, anticlimactic resolution. A painfully long yawn.
Kirkus Reviews