When I started this book I was confused because I don't normally read books like this, but honestly it was really good! I didn't think I was gonna like it as much as I did.

Happy Publication Day The Latecomer!

The Latecomer is an in-depth character analysis of a family only in name. In reality, they are held together only by the simple fact they are a family. They celebrate birthdays, attend funerals and go through the motions of being a family but in reality none of them, for reasons of their own, want to be around each other.

This book is heavily character driven which is a departure from the books I would ordinarily gravitate too. However some of my favourite books I’ve read this year are ones which I wouldn’t have usually picked up, so I thought why not. I was initially really into the book. I was fascinated by these people and wanted a deeper analysis into the missing familial connection. Perhaps I saw versions of my own family hidden within these characters.

Yet, none of the characters are really likable and I think that was exactly the point. Which is probably why after the first few chapters, the remaining ¾ of the book felt neverending. It started to become repetitive as to the driving home of the character traits of each individual and their actions during these chapters weren’t really departures from what we already knew about them. I started to contemplate the why of it all. I knew that eventually this book would have to end in the family coming together for some reason or another, otherwise why was any of this important. Yet I wasn’t sure if I would feel anything when the time came.

It wasn’t until the POV changed to Phoebe, the daughter born 18 years after the triplets arrived, that the book started to regain my interest. Although I initially felt sorry for the triplets because they were a product of their circumstances their actions left me wondering if even if they had a loving and more “traditional” upbringing if they would have landed themselves exactly where they were anyway. Phoebe was as well a product of her circumstances but literally every member of her family had checked out by the time she arrived and she was left to pick up the pieces. Her desire for a “traditional” family could be felt through her pages.

Thank you to Celadon Books for providing an advanced reader’s copy through NetGalley for review.

Thank you so much to the author, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for the complimentary ARC!
This review contains my honest and unbiased thoughts and opinions. 

I decided to try something a little different from my "usual" and decided to give The Latecomer a try. It was definitely different for me and while I had mixed feelings, I did enjoy the story and would recommend it to those I feel would like it. This was my first book by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

The story begins by clearly pointing out that the triplets share no bond, no special "triplet" bond, they aren't even known as the Oppenheimer Triplets. Quite frankly, they don't like each other turning eighteen not only means heading off to college but finally beginning the separate lives they so desperately want. 

Then begins the story with The Parents. We discover the parents' past, how they met, how they really met and not just the cute story the mom tells everyone. No, they met years before the "meeting" she tells everyone, during a tragic event that obviously changed the course of the lives. After all, had that event not occurred, they wouldn't have met then nor would their lives have led to their "meeting" years later. All it takes is a moment.
But anyways, the dysfunction clearly begins as far back as before the parents even got married. I did find myself skimming over pieces as it seems like a lot of details and lost my attention at times. 

The story carries us through the years of the parents meeting, marrying, dealing with trying to have children, eventually having children and then the children leaving to start their own lives. This leaves the mom lonely and trying to fill that gap, which she does by having a child. An age gap like this often leads to siblings not having a close relationship... then again, the other three are triplets and have nothing even considered a relationship. 

The young sister is who made the story more enjoyable for me, she attempts to help this family actually be a family. 

Definitely interesting, sometimes a bit wordy and I couldn't entirely stay focused but I finished it and glad I did. 
We were given a glimpse into the lives of this multi-layered, dysfunctional family, learned  reasons behind their actions and characteristics and while the story seemed to drag just a little at times, it kept a decent flow that kept my attention.

The Latecomer - oh what can I say. This book was just okay for me. It wasn't awful but it didn't "grab" me and I struggled to be invested.

It's the story of Salo and Joanna Oppenheimer and their famiyl. They meet under somewhat tragic circumstances, struggle to conceive, IVF, and much other sitautions that are both filled with drama and the boring. They attempt to create a wonderful family life for triplets Sally, Harrison and Lewyn. These triplets basically can't stand each other and can't wait to head to college. Joanna uncovers her husband's dirty little secret and in a desperate attempt to save her marriage, decides to use her last frozen embryo to have another child, aka “ The Latecomer”.

This was a very character driven book and it often left me wanting more as the Oppenheims navigate through issues of religion, racism, sexuality, infidelity, family drama, and more. I think I would have enjoyed a somewhat condensed version of this story more. It tended to drag on and I think could have been more enjoyable if not so verbose.

I enjoyed the lives of the triblets and The Latecomer far more than that of the parents.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillon Audio and Celadon Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Oppenheimer family is a dysfunctional family at it's finest. Told through the point of view of the triplets, mainly focusing on Sally and Lewyn's experiences, less on Harrison. Which is a blessing since he is one intolerable human being.

Heavily character driven, the pacing of the book was the biggest issue for me. At times it just stalled. The relationships between the characters were so disconnected, it tumbled from the pages and left me feeling disconnected from anyone in the book, with no one to really root for and pretty blasé about what was happening.

I will say once the narrative switched to the perspective of the latecomer sibling to the triplets, Phoebe, the story unfolded at a quicker pace and I enjoyed the last third of the story the most.
The author did a good job of intertwining the lives of the Oppenheimer family. Well written. I am a fan of the author and her style of writing, this one maybe not my favorite but still a good book. Be a great book for those who like a deep dive into character psyches and would make for interesting book club discussions.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

Jean Hanff Korelitz's "The Latecomer" deals with the travails of the Oppenheimer family. Solomon (Salo) is haunted by an accident that occurred when he was twenty. Subsequently he marries Johanna Hirsch and they have triplets via in vitro fertilization. As the siblings, Sally, Harrison, and Lewyn grow into adulthood, they do their utmost to avoid spending time with one another. Meanwhile, Johanna's marriage to Salo is disintegrating (it was never a love match to begin with) and Salo is so obsessed with his passion—collecting obscure works of art—that he neglects wife and children.

Most of the book's characters are self-centered and unlikeable. Salo is a cold fish; Harrison is an intellectual snob who denigrates his brother and sister with cutting remarks; Sally and Lewyn (he is kind compared to the other two) both attend Cornell, but they refuse to acknowledge that their sibling is on campus. Johanna prefers to pretend that her children have a close and supportive relationship, although nothing could be further from the truth.

This meandering work of fiction is overwritten, talky, and tedious. I had little interest in the fate of the triplets. A fourth child, Phoebe, the latecomer of the title, is born after the triplets are grown, and she is more grounded and well-adjusted than Sally, Harrison, and Lewyn combined. The author tacks on a contrived and upbeat ending that at least gives us a measure of relief from the dreariness and misery of the earlier chapters. I have long been a fan of Korelitz, but "The Latecomer" is far from her best work.

Title: The Latecomer
Author: Jean Hanff Korelitz
Publication Date: May 31, 2022
Genre: General Fiction

Review:
The Latecomer is a story of a family who goes through a lot without knowing the reason behind it or so it seems. Everyone knows everything in this novel but the tragedy is no one tells anyone anything. It's a story of dysfunction and study of human families.
The blurb of the novel pretty much describes the whole story of this novel. This novel is the story of Salo who has gone through something tragic and through his dysfunction his whole family gets affected. As children, they are not close and as adults they are disjointed. What happens when a single member of the family decides to take matters into her hand is the crux of this story.
I really wanted to like this novel but really had a hard time. I like slow stories but this novel is just way slow. It has too much going on and tackles way too many subjects. By the time it picks up, either you lose interest or have just given up on the book. It was an okay read for me.

This very long family drama is definitely a slow burn. In fact it may even be slower than a slow burn. The first 200 pages or so are even plodding, but they are necessary backstory for what is to come. If you read The Plot, you may be expecting a thriller, however this book is definitely not a thrillers. A great story with interesting, well- developed characters, albeit a bit slow for me. This novel definitely showcases the author’s range and I can’t wait to see what is next. Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"This was the flaw in making a bargain with yourself, there is no one else there too agree to the terms."

The Latecomer was a rollercoaster for me in many ways. It starts out strong and inviting. Leaving an air of secrecy floating about. I have to admit that I was expecting something thrillery or almost sinister when I first dove in. Then I realized that this really isn't that type of novel. It's something more and something deeper. It's taking a family with an aptitude to be estranged, and dragging them back together.

Three "test tube" babies born from a mother's desperate desire to fill a house with love. However, her attempts to create a family fall on an emotionally checked out husband who I ended up loathing. The first part follows the couples attempt to basically be husband and wife and her efforts to move the marriage along and get pregnant. I found myself completely absorbed with this part.

The middle was so-so for me. Its a look into the college excursions of the three kids. While I get the concept, I noticed that it didn't help create any character bonds for me. If anything I ended up not really liking them much. They had the checked out persona of the father when it came to family ties. Drove me nuts truthfully.

The last bit is focused more on the fourth child who comes in at a pivotal point. She is the latecomer to the family but so much more. She made me appreciate the other siblings in a way I didn't expect. Inwas dissapointed with the mother though. Didn't expect her growth to go the way it did.

There is a rawness and reality-like aspect to the narrative I was not expecting. I went in thinking one thing but enjoying a vastly different twist. Julia Whelan was phenomenal and the biggest reason I made it through the middle character portions. Her voice as not only soothing but it pulls you in deeply. I'll need to remember to keep my eye out for others novels read by her.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Celadon Books for the gifted audio and digital copies. All thoughts are my own. True rating 3.5/5.

Thanks NetGalley and Celadon books for my copy in exchange for a review!
This is a solid 3 stars for me. It would be a good read for people who like family dramas. There's definitely drama as far as infidelity, siblings that don't get along, trauma, grief, etc etc. It was good, but not spectacular for me because of how long it took me to get through. It's definitely slow burn, so if you gravitate toward page turners like I do, this one might not be for you. It's also like 400ish pages I think? (I never know on these ebooks haha).

I apologize but I could not get past 3 percent of this book. To me, it was constant run on sentences and way too much unneeded description. I tried several times, but I just couldn’t get involved. I really appreciate the opportunity and I wish the author the best with it.

This book is so different and unequalled from the previous works of the author. The dramatic, tense moments kept me on my toes. I didn’t want it end. The writing was so impressive, magnifying. Even though the story might be dragging at some chapters, that long and slow burn road still keep attracting your entire focus. There’s no mystery and twist but you are still hooked up to this dysfunctional family tale and you can not dare to put it up

THE LATECOMER By Jean Hanff Korelitz.

My first thought about this book is I don’t care. The second, was simply a question: Why?

Why is it so long and why do I care to finish?

I had a similar experience while reading THE GOLDFINCH, which I DNF’d, so take that for what it is.

The characters are very unlikeable and this is a character study. Which feels like meal prepping a huge amount of your least favorite food and eating it exclusively by the spoonful for an entire month.

I did not enjoy my time reading it. I did not find myself wanting to pick it up, it’s long and slower than slow.

DNF at 50.1%. That’s over 250 pages. I feel like really tried.

I loved THE PLOT and will pick up another release by Korelitz.

Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon Books for the advanced ebook and audiobook copy!

Summary:
The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents Salo and Johanna, under tragic circumstances, to their triplets born during the early days of IVF. As children, the three siblings – Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally – feel no strong familial bond and cannot wait to go their separate ways, even as their father becomes more distanced and their mother more desperate. When the triplets leave for college, Johanna, faced with being truly alone, makes the decision to have a fourth child. What role will the “latecomer” play in this fractured family?

Review: Although the writing was beautiful, this book just wasn’t for me. I thought it was a bit too long and the middle section was slow. I do think those that like character driven novels will enjoy.

The Latecomer is a character driven, slow paced book. The tension slowly builds and each character has a fully formed feel.

While I can very much appreciate the wholly character-driven nature of this book, this one didn’t wow me. I can usually really enjoy books with mostly unlikable characters, though it wasn’t just that (most of) these characters were unlikable. It was the ways in which they were unlikable. It seemed over the top and unnecessary. Aside from Lewyn, I really despised the triplets… and Lewyn wasn’t even that standout. Phoebe was the only bright spot and when her chapters come in much later in the book, it made The Latecomer much more enjoyable… but still not enough.

The writing was really wonderful. I know I need to read this author’s other work.

The narration was off for me. The first two parts read largely as 3rd person POV but occasionally an "our father/our mother" was thrown in to remind me it was actually 1st person POV from someone not born yet.

I liked that the book was split into three parts - the parents, the triplets, and the latecomer. The first part gave the background and laid the groundwork for the rest of the story. I enjoyed this first part and was invested but the characters didn't grab me. The bulk of the story is in the second part. I had a harder time with this as the characters were quite unlikable and I couldn't connect with anyone. I did still enjoy their drama from the outside but I wish I knew more about their motives and what they were thinking. I also found this part too long, it seemed to drag on I was losing interest. The final part starts tying everything together, it pulled me back in and I enjoyed the ending. If I didn't have the audiobook as well, I likely would have DNF at some point during the second part.

If you like a slow burn, mult generational, family drama then give The Latecomer a try.

The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz is the first book that I have read by this author. I wanted to love this book so much but I just didn't. It was a "meh" for me but had major potential.

I love how the story is broken into three parts, The parents, the triplets and then the third part which I do not want to get into too much detail about.

I was super invested in the parents portion but then the triplets came and I was completely turned off. I did not like any of the children and felt they were all unlikeable.

The story was long at over 450 pages and I felt that it could have been shorter and maybe more enjoyable. There are many parts that are slow moving and extremely bland. I almost DNF but luckily I had the audio book as well which definitely helped.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was slightly out of my comfort zone but reminiscent of the style of The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer! It definitely took some time to get into BUT ultimately, I found myself invested in the everyday dramas and tribulations of the characters. There are a few twists, sibling rivalry, family drama - what's not to love? ☺️

Meet Sal - the stoic patriarch of the NYC based Oppenheimer family- and his wife Joanna, whose sole purpose in life is to be a great wife and incredible mother. The book follows Sal & Joanna as they meet in college, get married, have children, watch those children grow up and move away, and experience adulthood, growing old, tragedy and joy. The story is told from the lens of multiple characters, so moments are viewed through different eyes, which I always find an interesting narrative experience. Hanff Korelitz weaves a deep love of art throughout this novel - it's full of historic and cultural references.

Ultimately, if you're looking for something meaty to dig your teeth into, I found myself enamoured with the dynamic of this family (or rather, the destructiveness of the dynamic of this family). There is a lot of detail, a considerable amount of plot and a host of characters for you to love (or hate). I found the ending redemptive, and am so glad I read this one!

If you like books about art, society and multi generational (modern) family sagas - this one is for you!

Woah! Advertised as a slow and deliberate character driven novel, The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz delivers precisely that! The Oppenheimer triplets never bonded, never even liked each other. The desire to leave home and go their separate ways is what motivates them. As they do just that, leaving for college, their mother decides to have a fourth child. What impact will this child have on this very dysfunctional family?
The Latecomer slowly builds as only Korelitz can do with her in-depth characters descriptions, and comes together as a story with many intertwining connections. However, in this book, we are watching the story and characters through a third person view (which took me a bit to figure out who - and it shouldn't have) so as descriptive as it is, there is still so much we don't know about each of them. Because of that, perhaps, it was hard to like any of them, until maybe the very end. Was that the author's intent? I'm curious enough to know that I'm anxiously waiting her book tour to see what she has to say about it! Would I have liked them better if I understood them better and known their inner struggles? But then again, maybe that's the point. When we're looking at someone from the outside, we don't really know what they are going through. What a little communication and compassion could reveal!
This book covers a lot of ground, some more in depth than others. The author touches on grief, guilt, IVF, infidelity, racism, religion among other many other things.

Thank you Celadon Book and Netgalley for the advanced copy of The Latecomer! I was so excited to receive it!
The Latecomer is a multi-generational story surrounding the Oppenheimer family, Salo and Johanna, their IVF triplets Harrison, Lewyn and Sally and the "latecomer" sibling Phoebe. Very character driven in nature, The Latecomer dives deep into many heavier issues including accidental death, grief, infertility, infidelity, resentment, privilege and race, religion and complicated family dynamics.
The Latecomer was a very different read for me in that I enjoyed the first 25% and the last 25%, but felt as though the middle 50% was very slow. That middle section of the book was entirely too long and in my opinion most of it could have been edited out. I honestly had to switch to the audio version otherwise I honestly might have chosen to stop reading. The ending where things finally begin to come together was great though. I wish we got more of that last 25% where Phoebe really comes into the picture. I think there may be many readers who really relate to this one and soak it's long length in, but unfortunately that wasn't me.