I love Rebecca Kauffman, she is one of my favorite contemporary writers. The Gunners was an absolute masterpiece. I was surprised to see a historical subject on her latest, but thoroughly enjoyed it!

I loved Rebecca Kauffman's previous novel, "The Gunners" so I was very excited to read her upcoming work, "Chorus". This was another really beautiful heartfelt story about a big family living on a farm in Virginia. Each chapter is a different point of view from The Shaw Family. Also, each chapter takes place in a different decade in the families ever-changing lives. The story jumps in time, and back again (non-linear). Kauffman is an amazing and natural storyteller. In "The Gunners" - the focus centered around a group of childhood friends, and in this one, the central story surrounds a poor but close-knit family. Kauffman understands the complexities of family, the challenging and joyous parts of it. It was interesting to read how all of the Shaw children felt about their mentally ill mother, and their supportive but emotionally aloof father. Certain situations felt a little repetitive but overall, "Chorus" is a very heartwarming and poignant novel.

Thank you, Netgalley and Counterpoint for the digital ARC.

First of all, I requested this book for it's amazing cover. I enjoyed the author's earlier The Gunners, but was less satisfied with The House on Fripp Island. This novel falls somewhere in the middle for me. I enjoy a dysfunctional family story, but this one juggled a few too many characters, i think, to fully develop everyone and keep from cluttering the plot.

Chorus is a heartfelt story about family, loss, and identity. Chapters almost read like interesting short stories, and span the childhood and adulthood perspectives of seven siblings and their father; their mother suffers from mental illness and her death affects them all greatly in different ways. The cover of this book is beautiful and inviting, and the reader will feel at home with these characters and their individual and collective stories. The writing reminded me a bit of Sally Rooney, whose novels also tend to be character-driven with a focus on relationships. I enjoyed Rebecca Kauffman’s previous novel, The Gunners, and feel fortunate to have been granted an ARC of the author’s latest book. Another fun fact is that a good bit of the story takes place in my home state of Virginia, with Chesterfield and other nearby counties being mentioned in the setting. Grab a mug of tea or coffee and enjoy!


Thank you very much to NetGalley, Catapult, Counterpoint Press, and Soft Skull Press for the advanced reader’s copy of this book.

I have to admit - if I saw this book on the shelf in a store, this cover would make me stop and pick up the book, it's that eye-catching. “Chorus” is by Rebecca Kauffman, who also wrote “The House on Fripp Island.” Like in Fripp Island, in “Chorus” Ms. Kauffman once again shows that she gives her characters great depth and development. In a number of ways - and this might sound strange - this book reminded me of going to a family reunion where you hear a story from Uncle Henry, then chat with Cousin Bea who shares another memory, then wander to another relative and it continues. The stories don’t seem to be connected - other than all being from the same family - but at the end it does all fit together and connect. I rather liked how this was not only written (meaning the character development - the different family members were easy to keep apart) but also told (again, the stories were told in short snippets, but concise enough where enough information was given without it feeling like you needed more). As the summary says, this is a book about family - the ups, the downs, the roles we take, relationships we make when young with siblings, and how sometimes family feels at times like “home.”