This book was a big letdown. None of the characters were likeable., the book dragged in some areas. Just was a boring read. No matter how many times I went back to the book, I found it boring. Thanks to NetGalley, the authro and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

I like the idea of getting to know the characters separately and having the story intertwine along the way, but at times it wasn't completely connecting for me. The descriptions of characters and their actions were vivid and well done. Overall the book was a good read, but at times it felt like a lot of work to keep everything straight.

Here is a review by Jennifer: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2355587289

The Comedown by Rebekah Frumkin is a recommended intergenerational family drama following three generations of two interconnected Cleveland families, one black, one white, from the 1970s to 2009.

The drama centers on a 1973 drug deal gone bad and is concerned with a missing suitcase that may contain a quarter of a million dollars. Leland Bloom-Mittwoch, a drug addict, witnesses the shooting of his dealer, Reggie Marshall. Leland takes off with a suitcase full of cash. The story is then told from the multiple viewpoints of members of both Leland’s and Reggie’s families for the next 30 years.

The novel is less of a mystery with members looking for the suitcase, than it is a compilation of character studies. Each character has a chapter to discuss their formative years and a crucial event during that time that other characters share. Since the novel opens with two pages of family trees, that fact that it is a heavily populated novel shouldn't be a surprise. Frumkin places her various characters in the same historical events from different points-of-view. She has her characters throwing blame for their misfortune on the other family. Her flawed characters deal with mental illness, secrets, self-delusions, addiction, poverty, and racism.

The Comedown is an ambitious debut novel with a complex plot set in a well-researched historical context. It is also a novel that didn't completely work for me. The individual stories are very strong, engrossing character studies, but there are an overabundance of characters, several of which didn't need to be a part of the novel. There didn't need to be quite so many characters because, at the end, there was a lack of a coherent connection between all of the characters and a plethora of loose ends never addressed. As a reader, this bothers me. I was also not a great fan of the style in which the novel is written. The quality of the writing is quite good, however, which places Frumkin as a novelist I will watch for in the future. Many people liked the novel much more than me, so I'm sure that my issues with it are more a matter of personal preference.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Henry Holt & Company.
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This book is a collection of stories that all revolve around the same event and characters. Reminiscent of books like The Corrections and The Red Garden, this has a large cast with many memorable stories to share. I enjoyed this book and found the coverage of bullying, mental illness, and racism to be relevant to today’s society. I never got confused between point of views and I liked the attention to detail. The characterization is strong and well crafted. I would definitely recommend this to a friend or my students.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review on my blog. I had a hard time following the characters and, after a quarter into the book, I didn't care to keep trying so hard. I am sure the writing of this would have continued to be good but something about the story didn't work for me and I really didn't understand what was going on. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

I loved this book. The writing is fantastic, and the author beautifully created distinct and interesting voices for the wildly diverse characters.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

I had read some good reviews of this novel and although I don't disagree that it is a rich story, woven together of bits and pieces... they never come together. Just when one piece of the story, of the character, the time began to become interesting and I could empathize, or hate the character- off we go to another character, setting, time and place.

Too many bits and pieces, not enough time spent on any and what happens... no resolution.

(4.5 stars, rounded up)

Oh, can Rebekah Frumkin write! I was mesmerized by her prose, which is just so spot on. In truth it was her writing that kept me turning pages more than the plot.

But the plot is definitely notable. A drug deal goes wrong and the addict and dealer's families become strangely intertwined for generations. I'm a sucker for family sagas and thought that's what this novel would be, but it's actually more than that. It's an epic novel (that's not too long) that explores race, religion, and class.

A debut that's certainly worth checking out.

A sweeping novel, told over decades, characters, and families, all encompassing one man (who dies at in the prologue.) It is bold, funny, and surprising.

I don’t know what I think. I loved the main plot and the way it read like Did You Ever Have A Family or the movie Crash, exploring the way different lives are interconnected by one single event or person, and the ramifications on each person. Her writing is excellent and I loved her respect for Judaism. But the extended backstories of each character was tedious and annoying. This is a book you’ll love or hate. No in-between.

I quite enjoyed this one and especially liked how the author weaved together different stories/points of view from the various characters. I love that method of storytelling as it keeps the book feeling fresh and lots of different perspectives. At times, I had trouble remembering which was which as far as telling characters apart but that might have been my own fault. It was the only minor flaw I had. I loved the story!

The intertwining of separate and disparate lives in Cleveland is beautifully written and Rebekah Frumkin's voice is clear and bold. Her depiction of mental illness, addiction and general human vice and virtue were spot on and powerfully written.

one of the things that has really stuck with me throughout the book is that we all see ourselves as a little less fucked up, a little more put together, and a little more generous and kind-hearted than we are perceived by others. Though, interestingly, the characteristics that the characters were harshest about in themselves were often the parts of them that other characters viewed most positively. The unreliable narration of this book is...well, exactly the unreliable narration that we narrate our own lives with.

I'd recommend this book to those who love character studies, short stories, and gritty novels about city life.

Disclaimer: NetGalley provided me with a copy of this book for free for an honest review, and I am personal friends with the author. Still, my review stands!

This rich novel is structured as linked stories, each featuring a member of one of two Cleveland families forever tied in a somewhat unholy bond. A horrendous drug deal gone wrong on May 8, 1973 is the fulcrum for all that follows, and drugs are at the center of everything, legal and non-. It also happens to be a birthday shared by the patriarchs Reggie Marshall and Leland Bloom Sr., and I was hooked from the prologue. The McGuffin here is a yellow briefcase that may or may not contain life changing money, but since it has taken on mythic quality, it really doesn't matter what it contains. Each person is so vividly drawn, you almost forget this is a novel and are surprised when there is a chapter end and another avenue is opened up. Rebekah Frumkin is an amazingly vivid writer, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Gritty, smart, complicated. Weird chapter cuts and similar character names add to an irksome sense of confusion at times — could be brilliant with some tighter editing.

The Comedown is a terrific literary work that takes the classic form of the great sweeping novels that span generations and wars and breathes fresh life into the genre. It's a story told much in the way stories are really told at the holiday table -in bits and pieces with different people remembering different things. It's the story of two families twisted together through a drug deal gone bad and extended versions of those families. Each chapter takes on a successive character and tells their story. Each character has a story to tell, complex, full, wildly amazing, and filled with pain, joy, and wonderment. It takes a little bit of reading to get used to the method of storytelling and the pace, but it's worth persevering because Frumkin delivers a beautiful complex many-faceted story that has drug addicts in Cleveland, broken families, car crashes interrupting young love affairs, jealousy, bitterness, college days, grade school bullies, and do much more. The people in this book are richly drawn and each of them has something agonizing from the father who disappeared to start anew to the missing briefcase to the drug-addled get together to first dates to brain surgery to teenage geniuses. A great piece of work so different from my usual reading fare. Thank you to Henry Holt and Co. for providing a copy for review.

A well-written and well-weaved tale of two lives intersecting after a life changing event in 1973. Started strong, but lagged in the third quarter and I found that by the end, I didn’t really have a strong connection with the characters.

Appealingly written from each characters' point of view, the story of two families and the unlikely manner in which their lives become and remain intertwined plays out through the generations. Set against a backdrop that spans several states and numerous social issues (race, religion and socioeconomic status), Reggie, a practical and hopeful black drug dealer, and Leland, a white middle-aged, somewhat psychotic and religiously challenged drug addict, try to make better for themselves and their families in the only ways that they know how. Written with a light spirit, heavy issues are given a touchingly human turn, allowing us to forgive transgressions that we might not be willing to without getting to know these characters so intimately. This story will draw you into the dark at the same time that it reveals the flames of light and love over time that keep Reggie and Leland's decedents moving forward, sometimes despite their best efforts. 
This book was reviewed on Goodreads, Facebook and Twitter as well as on the link below, on 7 Nov 18

The Comedown is a story that unfolds when the lives of two different families become entangled after an unexpected, violent event takes place one night in 1973 in Cleveland. The choices made by one man have a profound effect on the future of both of these families.

There is a lot that I really loved about this book. It’s clear that Rebekah Frumkin is a very talented story teller. She was able to create an intricate plot with a large cast of characters and make it all work. It was very well organized, never confusing or disjointed and I was fully engaged in the story basically the entire time. This was a book that I hated to set aside to deal with life. All of the characters were very well developed and interesting. She was able to stay on point with the plot even when the character whose point of view I was reading was very tangential to the main storyline (one example being when Melinda calls the hotel room in Tarzan/Tweety’s narrative … this brought the reader right back to the point at hand). In a way this book reminded me of Blackbird House and The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman. Both of these books read like a collection of short stories with one object prominent in every chapter as the years go by therefore tying it all together. In The Comedown the object is the yellow briefcase and the briefcase, along with Leland Bloom-Mittwoch Sr., is what keeps this complicated storyline confined.

There are a lot of issues touched on throughout this novel. Drug abuse is the most prominent issue and Ms. Frumkin writes of every aspect from youthful experimentation to full out junkie, prescription drugs to street drugs. The story also speaks of mental illness, racism, bullying, and sexual assault. This is all worked into the story in a seamless way and never comes off as condescending, obtrusive or parochial. The author has keen insight into all of these issues as well as a broad perspective.

My reason for a 4 star rather than a 5 star rating is that Maria Timpano’s narrative and the epilogue got a little tedious for me. I found my mind wandering and my eyes skimming at some point during both of these sections.

I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone that enjoys a story that makes them cringe but also makes them laugh out loud. I thoroughly enjoyed The Comedown and look forward to reading more by Rebekah Frumkin.