Standing ovation....!!!! In the light of Kristin Hannah's nightingale and the four winds. Ms Emily Matchar is a true story teller...WOW!! what a debut, im floored for lack of words of how and where to start with this book. Secretly reading it slowly because i just didnt want it to end.

We see a multigeneration family, starting with Sol immigrating from lithuania, then his son's wife Slyvia, from poland, then on to Doree her daughter and lastly Jordan; Doree's son who brings to the light all the hidden secrets. Ms Matchar takes us on a journey through their lives, their loves, hardships and finally comes full circle with all their hidden revelations!

I cant wait for the world to see the genius of this new story teller on the scene and im looking forward to all her future books!!!!!
Ms Matchar Solid 5 stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was a good story of four generations surrounding the Greenbrier, a resort for the rich and famous. For some reason, I had a hard time keeping all of the characters straight and what was going on – a journalist in present day is trying to find out wat was built underground in the 40’s at the resort – thoughts were of a place to house Nazis, putting people who were trying to stay out of the news about the War – the basic story was good but it was hard to follow. Thank you NetGalley and Penquin PubLishing.

"In the Shadow of the Greenbrier" by Emily Matchar is a captivating family saga that draws you into the world of White Sulphur Springs and the iconic Greenbrier Resort. Matchar skillfully weaves together the lives of four generations of the Zelner family, creating a tapestry of emotions, relationships, and the enduring legacy of a place that holds both enchantment and challenge.

What makes this book truly special is its rich historical detail and how it explores the interplay between the past and the future. The author's vivid descriptions transport you to a bygone era, and you can't help but be immersed in the world she has created.

While it is a little slow to start, it was a satisfying read and will undoubtedly be a hit with fans of historical literature.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced reader's copy.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This books was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The beginning was slow and a little tricky to follow as the chapters alternate point of view between four Jewish characters who are related - and at different points in their lives, mainly from the early 1900s to the 1990s. The characters live "in the shadow of the Greenbrier" a huge resort in West Virginia that attracted Hollywood stars and later served as a prison for Italian and German diplomats during WW2. We follow the characters as they fall in and out love, deal with antisemitism both here and in Europe, and as they raise families of their own.

About a third of the way in the story picked up for me and I didn't want to put it down. I did think the big "mystery" was a little anticlimatic but that's ok since I don't love really sad/scary stories anyway.

Would make a good book club I think.

poignant, well done historical fiction about a hotel. i was expecting more horror / darkness from name and description but it was fantastic

In the Shadow of the Greenbrier follows 4 story lines of one family, spanning across the 1900s. Part of the storyline were extremely enjoyable. But the ending fell flat and was a little bit of a let down. Not what I was expecting. There was also a lot more language & open door scenes than I expected there to be.

Wow! Matcher is a new author to me and she did not disappoint! The history that she so e in to this book is amazing and so very relevant. West Virginia came alive with this saga and the generations of Zelner women. Highly recommend if you love watching a family evolve over the years.

I will try to come back to this book later, because I think that I will like it when I am in the right headspace. Currently, I am going through a very difficult time, and need to read something that can help me get through.

The author did an amazing job following different family members through different time periods. She tied all the plots together I nicely. The book centers around the Greenbrier. The Zelner’s are Jewish and open a general store in the town where the Greenbrier was built. The author has a gift for describing scenes so you can feel the raw emotions and imagine the settings. Several twists and turns. Really enjoyed this book, highly recommend.

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

In the Shadow of the Greenbrier is a multi-generational story of a Jewish family who ended up settling and running a convince store in a small town of West Virginia, White Sulfur Springs. The story follows four characters, each from the next generation, and their their journey to, or back to, White Sulfur Springs. The town is home to the famous Greenbrier hotel, which is a resort known for their famous guests that range from celebrities to presidents. Surrounding the hotel is a family mystery that slowly unfolds throughout the book to uncover secrets hidden for years within the own Zelner family.

This book takes some time to get into, but I did enjoyed the book. It was very interesting reading about the Greenbrier and the struggles of a Jewish family in America during the WWII era. I have never heard of the Greenbrier hotel prior to picking up this book, even though I live in DC. I would definitely be interested in making a trip there now to check out the famous hotel.

Keeping track of the different timelines and character's were easier once I had written them down for reference, but can be hard to keep up with in the beginning of the book. The plot is also fairly slow to begin with, but picks up in the later half of the book. I guessed what the mystery was fairly on so I didn't consider it a page turner to discover the secret's of the Zelner family but I still thought it was a good and interesting read. The characters, the struggles they faced as Jews, their decisions, and how those decisions impacted themselves and their children, and their children's children was interesting and made the book a good read.

Overall, I think I would rate the book a 3.5/4 stars. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A family lives and loves near a famous resort hotel, experiencing joy, heartbreak, prejudice and more.

In the small rural town of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, there exists a famous resort hotel called The Greenbrier. It has been the idyllic retreat for the glamorous and wealthy, hosted presidents and other powerful people, acted as a wartime military hospital and functioned as an internment facility during wartime for the diplomatic staff of enemy nations. It also served a function that remained a secret for decades. Books have been written about this storied location, but in this novel it is but one character among many. It is the story of four generations of a Jewish family who live and work in the town where The Greenbrier is located. The first to arrive in White Sulphur Springs is Sol Zelner who has fled his small Lithuanian town in the early 1900’s to avoid being drafted as cannon fodder for the tsar’s army, leaving behind his mother and sisters and struggling to make a life in America. He lands in Baltimore, lucks into a job as a traveling peddler, learns English and starts to make a living. He dreams of having a wife, a home and children in this new land, and even in the face of prejudice (including being asked over and over again to show people the horns on his head, which surely he must have being Jewish) remains optimistic. Surviving a brutal robbery on the road, he is offered the chance to open a shop in the town of White Sulphur Springs, where a magnificent resort is being built. He seizes the opportunity, works to become a part of the community that has few if any Jewish people, and even wins the hand of the beautiful American-born Pauline. They have sons, including Louis who when he is of marrying age meets and weds Sylvia. Sylvia like Sol before her has fled her home in Europe, but in her case she has left Poland and is fleeing the Nazis. She is from a fairly wealthy family in the city of Łódź; her mother and younger brothers have emigrated to Palestine, while her two older brothers have stayed to fight with their fellow socialists against the Germans. Sylvia and Louis have three children: Doree, a daughter and the eldest, Alan and Pete. Doree considers herself a typical American girl, is a little boy crazy but does well in school and plans to go to college alongside her best friend Patty.. Doree eventually marries and has children, and it is her son Jordan who (working as a journalist for the Washington Post) looks into a tip about what is really located underneath the famous resort which has been a fixture in his family’s history.
The ups and downs, successes and tragedies, loves and losses of this family span the early 1900’s through the 1990’s . I was attracted to this book for a very personal reason….I got married and honeymooned at The Greenbrier, and was curious to see its legends woven into this novel. That said, I enjoyed the novel a great deal on its own merits, and the setting was just a plus. Through the different characters who alternately narrated the chapters, jumping back and forth between time periods, I was able to get to know each throughout their lives. Sol, with his sense of humor and positive nature, was a favorite, while the dissatisfied, querulous Sylvia was not quite likable but, as’ I learned more about her past and her aspirations I was able to be more sympathetic to her difficulties. The nature of secrets, the desire for acceptance, the bigotry that springs from ignorance, and the need to be seen and accepted for who one is at their core are all woven into the stories and lives of the Zelner family and those in their lives, and I found it an engrossing and ultimately satisfying read. I am not going to reveal what secret The Greenbrier hid for so long, but I can tell you that it is in fact true and is a relatively unknown piece of American history, as are all of the other components of the hotel’s history. Readers of Martha Hall Kelly, Kristin Hannah and Nancy Horan should pick up a copy of In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, as should those interested in seeing a sliver of Jewish American life through the last 100 years or so. If you like to learn bits of lesser known American history while you learn about a family’s history, then add this to your TBR pile. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s edition of this novel, which in turn permitted me to revisit virtually a special place in my own history.

Well told story with interesting characters. I enjoyed the well researched history of the Greenbrier. The story was slow in some parts.

Based on a true story, In the Shadow of the Greenbrier has three storylines covering decades of time and the mystery of the Greenbrier. Although it took me awhile to sort the timelines in my head, when I got it, I was turning pages so fast to figure out what happened next. Exciting, mysterious, thrilling and a little scandalous, In the Shadow of the Greenbrier is your next great historical fiction read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In the Shadow of the Greenbrier follows four generations of the only Jewish family in a small resort to town. The resort touches the lives of every generation of the Zelner family. Sol is an immigrant peddler who settles in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia and opens a store. His daughter-in-law Sylvia feels trapped and longs to reunite with her family relocated to Tel Aviv during World War II. Sylvia's daughter Doree is eager to begin her life outside of home. Doree's son Jordan uncovers a secret that explains a family mystery. In the shadow of the Greenbrier is a novel about secrets - the fact that everyone keeps secrets and how those secrets affect our lives. The final secret, about the resort itself, is a bit anticlimactic. Overall the novel is a compelling story of family, religion, and home, and just how isolating those things can be.

Although it took me a while to get into this book, once I did, I was HOOKED. I had trouble keeping track of the different timelines and storylines at first, but once those were established, I was super curious to see how they each intersected and and to find out what was going on in the Greenbrier. I think this book is also very timely given the wave of antisemitism we're going through: it was heartbreaking to read about the racism Jewish families experienced in the US when they immigrated during WWII, and it's terrible to see that history being repeated. I think this is a great book to provide perspective on those experiences.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very interesting exploration of the Jewish experience for both immigrant and American born Jews. Despite this examination of what it means to be Jewish as a core of the book, there is also a very interesting plot that involves unwinding 4 generations of family secrets. This book held my interest and moved at a satisfying pace. I would recommend this book for both Jewish and non-Jewish readers.

This was a good book.

From the book blurb:
"A poignant multigenerational Jewish family saga inspired by remarkable, yet little-known, true events that shaped America’s history.

Nestled in the hills of West Virginia lies White Sulphur Springs, home to the Greenbrier Resort. Long a playground for presidents and film stars, the Greenbrier has its own gravitational pull. Over ten decades, four generations of the Zelner family must grapple with their place in its shadow . . . and within their own family."

I enjoyed reading this book. While I enjoyed reading the stories of multiple generations of the Zelner family, there was a lot of story to unpack and at times I wish it could have gone in to more details about individual story lines. By covering multiple generations though, you really got a feel for the different challenges the different generations had, but yet how each generation deals with similar issues, both good and bad.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley and glad I read it.

This is the first I have ever heard about Greenbrier and was immediately drawn to the story and the intertwining of the timelines for the characters in their different generational timelines in the Zelner family's lives. This book was well researched, however it became hard at times to keep the plotlines straight. There were some extraneous side stories that made the book too complex in parts. I would definitely recommend it to those that are interested in historical fiction. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley. This was a really good read.

Wow! All I can say is wow!
One of my favorite authors is Beatriz Williams and it’s because in all of her books she does what Emily Matchar does in this book. She jumps around between 4 different family members and time periods to give us the history of the Greenbrier and of Silvia’s family. Four is a lot but Matchar does is exceptionally. I was hanging on the edge of my seat the whole time. I love that the Greenbrier is a real place with real, similar history to what’s in the book. My dad is from West Virginia and grew up about an hour from the Greenbrier which made this book even more special to stumble upon. I think Matchar could be the next historical fiction giant alongside Kate Quinn, Kristin Hannah and Beatriz Williams! Amazing book. Easy 5-stars!

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Random House for an early copy of In The Shadow of the Greenbrier by Emily Matchar

Author Emily Matchar has managed to create a well-constructed and deeply personal narrative of several generations of a Jewish family living in the shadow of the great Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Beginning with immigrant Sol who makes his way from Lithuania to America rather than be forced into the tsar's army and concluding with his great-grandson and Washington Post journalist Jordan, the story follows the trials, sacrifices and adventures of the Zelner family along with mysterious construction going on at the Resort.

At times completely heart-warming and other times heart-wrenching, Matchar does not let up in bringing the reader to new understandings of what it means to be a family along with the dangers of trying to keep family secrets. The characters are complex; the action leads to a long-hidden government secret.

Anyone who enjoys the duality of strong characters and a very worthy plot will want to read In the Shadow of the Greenbrier.