This book is long and rarely comes up for air. And there is a lot of tangents and references and it's essentially like on long Friday night dinner at the Gilmore's. That's not to say it's not well written or a good book; it absolutely is. But it's not a book you'll read to pass the time. You need to carve out space to sit down with this family and brace yourself to go on this journey with them.

It felt similar to Jonathan Frazen & Jess Row seems to be a great writer but quite a bit felt it could be condensed or edited. Or maybe the point was to be long & philosophical. There were some quotes by the characters that made me laugh at their overdramatic speechifying but they all seemed self-absorbed and it created a toxic family environment.

Thanks to the publisher for early access to this book. This was an incredibly ambitious novel - quite fitting for the era we're in. The author tackled these complex themes in an exceptional new novel.

Jess Row has produced a book to dive into and lose yourself. At the center is a fractured family and the attempt by a daughter to bring them together. Each character - and there is an array of them - is particular and hurt, damaged in some way by revelations of their history. The issues of race, climate change and Middle Eastern politics propel the tale to an unpredictable conclusion. Highly recommended.

This novel took some time for me to settle into; I suspect the e-book format made it more difficult than a hard copy would have been. But once I had figured out the shape and direction of the story-telling, Jess Row's honest and fresh writing proved a trustworthy guide as we wove a path among generations and family relationships navigating life's challenges.

I look forward to picking up the novel and revisiting these lives.

Many thanks to the publisher, Ecco Books, and NetGalley for an advance copy for review!

The New Earth is a slowly moving large scale story. The Wilcoxes are completely estranged due to the revelation 18 years ago that their mother revealed to her adult children that their father was a Black man. Following this announcement, the eldest fled to Palestine to become a peace activist and was killed by a sniper.

In The 'New Earth, Winter, one of the surviving dauthers, has planned.a wedding and is requesting that her whole family reunite for the event. The family slowly begins to gather, reflecting on all of the wrongs they have experienced in life and from one another, all the while questioning if they can forgive. If you like sprawling stories, climate discussion and dysfunctional families, The New Earth is for you! #ecco #TheNewEarth #jessrow

I did not finish this one. The conflicts go from bad to worse here with not much hopefulness or connection to the characters.

As with many of Row's books, this was intriguing, complex, and not wholly enjoyable. It's not always fun to see the author working so hard, but the end result eventually gets us where he wants us to be.

This is a pretty good story, although quite long, and I didn't always stay engaged. I suspect it could have been edited down a bit. Ironically, Row is a good story-teller, especially in the short story format (see his other work). I hope he continues to write more long form stuff.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!