The Latecomer is a family drama full of complex people and relationships, where the tension slowly builds until it becomes unputdownable at the last 100 pages.

I had an audio and physical copy of this book, and I think combining them was the way to go. The narration by Julia Whelan is excellent, and it drew me into the story faster than the book did. While Korelitz is masterful at crafting scenes, describing emotions and reactions perfectly, she does tend to get a bit wordy. With the audiobook, I was able to really hear the rhythm of her language and appreciate her humor.

While none of the characters are particularly likable at first as they almost all try to distance themselves from their family, they all grow and mature. I felt like I knew them by the end of the book. I'd even be willing to invite them over for a clam bake. There is a dry, situational humor throughout, too, that made me laugh out loud, such as the Mormons at the Jewish seder and the series of emails sent between Harrison and Phoebe.

If you like dysfunctional families, I definitely recommend this one. Not only does it explore relationships between parents and siblings, but also themes of loss, self-discovery, politics, and education.

Thank you to Celadon and Netgalley for my copies of the book!

Fans of The Plot by this author will be happy with this new book.

Korelitz has a unique way of building a story that unravels in a timely fashion that almost makes the reading experience feel like a motion picture happening around you.

The Latecomer has many aspects I love in stories, such as a dysfunctional family, messy relationships, and family secrets. This book started strong for me with an intriguing cast of characters that I couldn't wait to see the trajectory their stories would take. However, things just never really came together for me and parts felt unnecessary and rambling.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, lots of backstory and history about the family. The narrator is one of my favorites, and feel like she did a great job telling the story.

After a mix of reading/listening to the story I decided to not finish it now. It’s a very lengthy and descriptive book, with a lot to unpack. As someone who really likes a family drama, I’m hoping I can find a time soon where I can give this book the time and attention it deserves.

This book felt like I was watching a tv series. It was nicely paced and while nothing crazy happened, it was dramatic and kept my interest the whole time. I loved the insight into this jewish family and thought the author did a good job on creating each character.

Okay this book is fantastic, but if you can I HIGHLY recommend listening to the audiobook too!! Hilarious! I really, really enjoyed this book! It was captivating and it hooked me from the very first chapter! Definitely recommend! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz is going to shock many readers who have only read her two popular previous thrillers, The Plot, and You Should Have Known. The reason for the shock is that there is not a thrill in site in this novel. It is a straight-up, character-driven family drama. If marketed well, it will appeal to fans of The Nest, and many other NYC family dramas.

The Oppenheimer family was fascinating. I found them neither very likable nor very dislikable. They were just a family so different from my own experiences with family that I could not tear my eyes or ears away. The marriage between Johanna and Salo was so blah as to be very believable. You have a husband that is never fully engaged and a wife that is content with letting Salo be that way as long as she gets to have the children she so desires. Having children becomes difficult, but because Salo is rich, Johanna can afford the fairly new scientific breakthrough of in vitro fertilization. She has 4 eggs successfully fertilized, implants three and saves one for later. Turns out all three eggs are successful, so in the early to mid-eighties, Johanna has triplets. It is not the picture of familial bliss she imagined. They are not close...at all.

18 years later, for reasons that are not necessarily wise, Johanna goes back for the fourth egg and thus has a 4th child that is the Latecome the book is named after.

I really enjoyed the book. I knew going into it that it was a character-driven, thus I was not disappointed by the fact it didn't have much mystery/thriller to it. The Latecomer was full of characters who were very realistic, which can sometimes translate into boring. However, I was not bored throughout the (somewhat) long novel. I would recommend to anyone who loves family drama, especially those who are into all things NYC.

Jean Hariff Korelitz’s The Latecomer, follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family. Salo and Johanna meet during a traumatic event in Salo’s life, they go on to marry and have triplets. The three children were conceived with IVF, putting a forth embryo on ice . The three siblings grow up completely detached from one another, and their parents. Once in college they go they’re separate ways.

There is a lot to unpack in this book, concerning this family., there’s politics, grief, trauma, race, religion. The author did an excellent job of weaving this story. For some, this book might be a bit long and descriptive, I didn’t mind because I became immersed in the story. This book was easy to follow, and the characters were well developed. This was an audio book and the narrator’s voice made it a great listen.

The Latecomer, the story of the Oppenheimer triplets, is told over the course of almost 60 years. Johanna and Salo are married and Johanna is desperate to have a baby with him. They finally welcome triplets Harrison, Sally, and Lewyn and Johanna is hopeful for the family she always wanted. Unfortunately the siblings don't seem to like each other very much, let alone share a bond that many multiples do. However as the triplets are ready to head off to college, Johanna has her last frozen embryo from her IVF implanted into a surrogate, bringing along sister Phoebe, the latecomer. This is definitely a slow burn story but anything narrated by Julia Whalen is always sure to fly by. Many themes are covered over the course of the story and even though most of the characters are not very likable, you may just find yourself missing them when the story is over.

Requested because Julia Whelan was the narrator!! She is amazing and I love when she is reading. But at 16 hours and at a 2.0x speed, I lost interest. The premise was interesting, but this was too long.

I had no idea what to expect going into this book but I loved the narrator and was in the mood for a family drama. This book was so complex, so well crafted, and completely absorbing. I think I love it even more as I continue to think about it, because it's one that has stuck with me since I finished it. At about 18 hours of listening, it's not a short book, but I absolutely devoured it. The characters immediately pulled me in, as did the setting and structure. For fans of Malibu Rising and The Saints for All Occasions.

While there have been mixed reviews about this book, I really loved The Latecomer, written by Jean Hanff Korelitz. I had trouble sympathizing with most of the characters until about halfway through, but I grew very attached to most of them. It is a very lengthy novel that starts off slow, but all of the details are incricately woven together for a satisfying resolution. The Latecomer is very different from The Plot, but Jean Hanff Korelitz is becoming one of my favorite authors and I highly recommend this read. Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an ARC in exchange for my opinions.

I loved the writing in this book, I thought that Jean Hanff Korelitz's style was wonderful, but I did have a lot of things I did not like...for instance I did not find the characters personable and wasn't fond of them. Not liking the characters makes it hard for me to read the story. I also felt that it wasn't a cohesive story and seemed to ramble I guess is the word I am looking for.

The audio narration was wonderful, I enjoyed her emotion during the reading.

I might not have been really fond of The Latecomer, but as I said I did like the author's style of writing and am not opposed to picking up her next one and giving it a chance.

I really enjoyed this Family Drama and coming of age story that I predict will be very popular this year. It is a slow burn, character-driven novel. Korelitz writes a wonderful story about finding your own happiness, the forgiveness of others, and what family looks like. There is a slight political/religious undercurrent but hopefully, no one is offended. It was a little long and slow at times but I enjoyed it, especially on audio.

As you all know, I’m not a fan of long books. I requested the audiobook on Netgalley thinking that would help me get through it faster. I only got through six chapters / 18% of this audiobook before I decided to DNF. Nothing was interesting me and then a friend told me that it did not get better so I quit. I thought The Plot was good so I will read this author again, but sadly this one was not for me. This is the first book I have ever not finished.

I tried really hard on this one I think though one should not force themselves to read a book that isn't working for them. I know other reviewers mentioned the amount of wordage you hadn't get through for a story they felt could be shorter a I thought was probably ridiculous but after actually reading I would agree. Nothing kept me engaged

I think my feelings on this one are purely due to user-error and thinking this book was going to be something that it was not. I went in thinking it was creepy kid fiction vibes after the late arrival of a fourth sibling in this family, but it was really just a long (like 16 hours long) character study and focused on each of the family members and how the newest arrival changes their family dynamic. This story had a lot to say for sure, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

A family drama that i mostly enjoyed although found it to drag at times. The story was able to keep me intrigued by the dysfunction of the family. Loved the dramatic tense moments, the writing was very impressive and might just be my favorite by this author duo far

The Plot was one of my favourite books last year and I was so thrilled to be able to read and listen to Jean Hanff Korelitz latest book! Truth be told I was a little nervous about this book since it wasn't a mystery/thriller but a story about a family.

The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy Oppenheimer family that begins with the story of the parents in 1972, the triplets in the early 2000s and finally the latecomer in 2017. There was so much depth in the story and characters.

This is a slow-burn story yet I find myself kept turning the pages. I loved the meandering writing style and beautiful prose. This author writes great characters that will keep you invested in the story. It also explores important topics like fertility, grief, siblings relationships, parenthood, religions, race, sexuality and privilege.

Julia Whelan narrated the audiobook and as always her narration was an enjoyable one.

Overall, I enjoyed this book! I usually prefer reading a plot driven story but this one worked perfectly for me. Jean Hanff Korelitz is an auto-buy author for me now!


Pub. Date: May 31st, 2022

***Thank you Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this gifted reading and listening copy. All opinions expressed are my own.***

I am not good at giving bad reviews. This book dragged!!!! I almost didn't finish numerous times, but I kept thinking there must be something that pulls it together. There were too many descriptions about each child, I can see why some of it but I think half would have still made the book work. Sadly, this is my first book by this author, I will give her another chance as I saw many have loved her books prior.

The narrator did an excellent job. I had no problem keeping track of each character, and there was a lot to keep track of.

“This was the flaw in making a bargain with yourself. There is no one else there to agree to the terms.”

At just under 450 pages this book is a 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. It’s quite long and it takes quite a bit of the book for it to really get going. Like at any point during the first probably half of the book I could have put it down and not revisited it without feeling like I was missing something.

The characters, for the majority of it, are all essentially unlikable. The Oppenheimer triplets can’t get along, but there’s really no discernible reason why. The husband, Salo, is distant. The wife, Johanna, is withdrawn.

And then there’s the politics. Just…no. It’s enough to see the divisiveness on social media and on the news, I don’t need to read about it as well. I read to get 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 from that nonsense. But I soldiered on. “People with different ideas from one’s own were not the enemy; they were simply people with different ideas.”

But then the latecomer grows up, and she is exactly what the Oppenheimers have needed all along. The complex web of lies, secrets, and familial issues in this heavily character driven story all started to come together. And I grew to understand these broken people. To relate in some way, and even to root for them. Overall this one took quite a bit of time to get going but I am so glad I stuck it out!! If you enjoyed We Are The Brennan’s I think you will like this one too.

The audio was superb! Julia Whelan has narrated quite a few audiobooks that I have listened to and I was so excited when I heard her voice! She makes every book better I swear. I may have given up on this one had it not been for her lovely voice and the fire she gave to these characters! I highly recommend the audio of this one.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and the author for the gifted copy, eARC, and ALC in exchange for an honest review.