Evocative Story of Family

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The Real Mrs. TobiasThe Real Mrs. Tobias by Sally Koslow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“The Real Mrs. Tobias” is the latest novel by Sally Koslow, author of “The Widow Waltz” and “Another Side of Paradise.”

Here, we meet three generations of women, each who has had the privilege to be Mrs. Tobias. We start with the matriarch of the family, Veronika, a psychotherapist, is used to solving her patients’ problems, but the problem she cannot fix is her husband's rapid deterioration into dementia. Her daughter in law, Mel, also a psychotherapist and mother to adult twins, is facing middle-aged angst and has started to question her marriage to Jake as she reconnects with a past lover. Mel’s own daughter in law, Birdie, flees to Iowa after her husband, Micah, refuses to admit his responsibility in a hit and run that left a woman seriously injured.

I love multi-generational stories that focus on the ugliness (and joy) of family. I related to all three women, even though they were quite different. So many things go wrong in this novel, but there is also so much right with how this story is told. “The Real Mrs. Tobias” is poignantly realistic, but Sally Koslow manages to balance the moments of sorrow with plenty of humor.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to give this novel an early read.

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