I've been a fan of other works by Anna Quindlen so I was really excited to get my hands on her newest book. Alternate Side is the story of Nora and Charlie Nolan and their life. They have twins in college, live on a quaint dead end street in New York City, have promising professional careers, and overall lead a seemingly charmed life. This book is full with a cast of characters as we meet their neighbors, the people they work with, friends, and family. Through all of these interactions and stories we start to see the cracks in the Nolan marriage. Narrated by Nora, we follow along as she starts to question her various roles in life and the routes that led her to where she is now. While showcasing powerful insight into marriage, I found much of the book to be as dull as the Nolan marriage. I didn't particularly care for any of the characters and found myself skimming sections, waiting for something to happen. I thought this book was good, not great, and definitely not what I've come to enjoy about the author. Thank you @randomhouse for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't hate this book - but I didn't love it either. I didn't care for the characters or what happened to them and got tired of Nora's whining (even if much of it was probably justified). The book moved really slowly and nothing much happened. For me, it was just a so-so book. I'll give it 3 stars because the writing is good - I just wish the story would have been more interesting and the characters more appealing.

Anna Quindlen is one of my favorite authors and I expect greatness whenever I start one of her books. Nora and Charlie live in a NYC posh neighborhood where mostly rich people live, that is, rich people with no money because all their money is tied up in their house and expensive life in NYC. In many ways, this book reminded me of Maeve Binchy's writing style where we have a running narrative of many characters in the neighborhood somewhat interconnected but each can be its own story. Nora, Charlie and their twin children are at the center but we also have Charity, Ricky who work for the family. Across the way is George and the Fisk's and ... let me not forget the homeless guy who may not be homeless and ... many other characters. I am excited to report that I love Alternate Side. This is a "thinking" book. I had many moments when I stop reading and paused to think about my life but it is also an enjoyable read about family, work and marriage.

4+ stars

Often, I’m an outlier because I don’t like books that many of my GR friends liked. This time I feel like an outlier because I really enjoyed reading Alternate Sides, when it seems to be tanking with many of my GR friends.

Not much happens in Alternate Sides and the characters generally don’t evoke much sympathy. The story focuses on a group of neighbours who live on a rare dead end street in Manhattan. They own their Victorian houses, and are therefore rich based on the value of their real estate alone. They are gossipy, competitive, comfortable in their privilege and spend an inordinate amount of time fussing over parking. It’s told from the perspective of one of the neighbours, Nora, who works in a jewelry museum, is married to an unhappy financier and has twins on the cusp of graduating from fancy colleges.

So what did I like about Alternate Sides? I loved its meandering meditative quality. I loved Nora’s personality. Her gently judgmental gaze on her neighbours and herself was pitch perfect. Despite the rarified universe in which she lives, her emotional reaction to her husband, children and friends were very recognizable in their details and potency. At the same time, this isn’t a book that takes itself too seriously. There’s a fair bit of humour, without lapsing into acerbic satire.

What can I say? I fell in step with Quindlen’s writing and sensibility. Although I can certainly see how the lack of story and sympathetic characters might irk some readers, this really struck me as the work of a seasoned writer really skilled at getting into her characters’ heads.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to an advance copy.

I really enjoyed this story about an affluent family that lives in New York City. Their relationships with neighbors, coworkers, and themselves are described. The tone is somewhat mundane but it was still interesting to live in their lives for a bit. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

On a charming dead end street in Manhattan the residents walk their dogs, struggle to park and gossip. Nora’s love affair may be waning with her husband Charlie after more than two decades, but not with her beloved New York City. She runs the Museum of Jewelry for a wealthy socialite who is a bit off her rocker and has raised beautiful twins who are about to finish college and head out to make their way in the world. When the drama on the block hits an all time high so does Charlie’s mid life crisis. Dreaming of golf, and suburbs in the South, Nora and Charlie seem to be heading on two completely opposite trajectories. This pretty simple novel is a quick, pleasant read. Author Anna Quindlen develops the funniest, characters and is an awesome storyteller and writer. Gotta love the New York wit and genuine panic that sets in near fifty, real enough to give you pause and absurd enough to be throughly entertaining.

Alternate Sides: the theme of there being two sides to everything is examined over and over in this new book by Anna Quindlen. 'Alternate sides' could refer to something as simple as street cleaning rules for parking. It could refer to have and have-nots, the rich and their servants. It could refer to differing personalities, different sexes, different opinions, two sides to a story. Real and fake...

Alternate Side seems to be, first and foremost, a love affair with New York City--at least on the part of the main character, Nora Nolan, who came to the city for college and never wants to leave, even though Charlie, her husband, would leave in a minute. She, Charlie, and their college-age twins Rachel and Oliver, live in an upscale neighborhood in a Victorian townhouse on a dead-end street (and yes, that's very symbolic.)

Nora is happy to walk most everywhere but Charlie, along with other males on the block, MUST have their cars, and parking is a huge issue. When Charlie is granted a coveted parking space in an empty lot on their block, he is ecstatic. It's like winning the lottery!! And no one had better mess with that privilege...

This insular neighborhood, 'a bastion of white privilege,' seems like one big happy family with its block parties and barbecues until it is torn apart by the violent act of one resident with anger-management issues which puts the local handyman in the hospital. Was it accidental or intentional? Opinions on the issue divide neighbors and even husbands and wives, revealing cracks that might have been there all along.

Although I have intended to read Anna Quindlen's books for years, this is my first taste; therefore, I cannot compare this book to her other work and 'take a side' on which is her best. But I found this character-driven story quite intriguing and intelligent. Quindlen humorously nails marriages. One of my favorites: "It occurred often to Nora that they all tended to be much more solicitous of their dogs than of their spouses, and she was not sure whether that was because their dogs loved them unconditionally, did not engage them in conversation, or simply didn't live long."

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for providing me with an arc of Ms Quindlen's new book.

Nora and Charlie Bolan are long time residents on a dead end block in an upscale neighborhood of Manhattan. Families watch each other's children grow up, gossip is exchanged, and people covet one of the limited private parking spaces. All is well, or so it seems,until an incident starts to break open the fine cracks on the veneers of Nora's and others relationships.
Quindlan once again has made the small details of people's lives come to life in a realistic yet profound way.

I am not going to lie -- it took me a while to warm to this book, even though I adore Anna Quindlen. It all seemed like a bunch of first world problems happening to rich white people (although Nora's daughter Rachel said "no one says that [first world problems] anymore.")

Be that as it may, the first real conflict of the book invokes all the sorts of race and class issues that you would expect from a bunch of wealthyish people on a white block in Manhattan. Written of course from the perspective of one of the wealthyish people, even if she wasn't in support of her fellow melanin-challenged neighbors. It almost seemed insensitive when compared to books that actually grapple with such issues.

This book was much better when it wasn't trying to skewer its world and instead focused on Nora: her professional life, her marriage, and her inner life. By the end, I had really warmed up to it, as it was not only back to what I expect from Anna Quindlen, but less self-conscious and satirical. Nora's problems were real: her block's problems were not. Now that the book is over, I want more of New Nora and less of her annoying neighbors.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I first read Miller's Valley by this author and loved it so I was looking forward to reading her newest book. It starts with a war over a parking space on a deadend street. Which in New York having a guaranteed parking space is like gold. After an "accident " occurs on the street, neighbors are pitted against each other not knowing whose side to take or what story to believe.

Anna Quindlen writing style is what draws me to her books. Her characters are well developed and the story was interesting. Overall a good book.

I received this book from net galley in exchange for a honest review .

A big thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book and at times I did enjoy it. NYC is a compelling setting for a book and I did appreciate that facet of the book the very most. We are viewing a dead end block in southern Manhattan from the viewpoint of Nora, an empty nester in her early 50's. Events large and small converge together and like dominoes changes happen around Nora and in her own life, her marriage included. Some of this book rang true for me, other parts did not. Anna's writing style is one that from time to time suddenly gives you an aha moment. There were a few in this novel, but this was not my favorite of the Anna Quindlen books I have read so far.

Full disclosure, I was a big fan of Anna Quindlen when she was a syndicated columnist several decades ago. Her perspective as a young wife and mother, sharing the little joys and sorrows that were part of everyday life back then made her feel familiar, as if perhaps she was an old college friend and we were catching up, comparing notes as we navigated the uncharted waters of family life with young children. Her novels give me the same feeling, as if her characters were acquaintances, or could be. In Alternate Side, Nora Nolan is living a comfortable life in New York City. Her marriage is stable though somewhat routine as her college aged twins are about to fly the nest. Her neighbors are professionals, their children attend private schools, the few renters on the block are ignored, and the only people of color are their nannies, housekeepers, or handymen. Things are shaken up when a violent incident takes place on their block early one morning, brought about by one of the residents. The ripple effect of the incident affects how how Nora views her friendships, her job and her marriage.
I continue to enjoy Anna Quindlen’s comfortable writing style and the way she allows us to peek into other people’s lives, allowing us to think about our own.
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Anna Quindlen for the opportunity to read her latest book.

Anna Quindlen is a "must-read" author - her writing and storytelling always seem to speak to me. I think the first book of hers I read was Black and Blue - as a former domestic abuse survivor, it rang so incredibly true. I was sold.

Alternate Side is the story of Charlie and Nora who live in a Manhattan neighborhood, a dead-end street of old, stately homes. Charlie and Nora are long-time married, with twin children almost out of college. This is a story of being comfortable in our marriages, our neighborhoods, our lives and what happens when something pushes us out of that comfort zone. A violent episode in the neighborhood did just that for Charlie and Nora. Suddenly they were on alternate sides of an issue.

I love Quindlen's dry relatable humor. Like this passage..."When they were first married they had vowed they would never be one of those married couples who sat silent at dinner because they'd run out of things to say. They were determined that they would never run out of things to say. So they repeated themselves a lot."

This is also a story of class differences between the haves and the have-nots and those first world problems that plague so many of us. It's also a story of living and loving New York City - even the alternate side parking rules.

Highly recommended - I loved it!

I was lost in the clannish, quiet, rich yet barren coulee with four of my Traveling Sisters reading Alternate Side. We found a nice quiet spot at the end of the coulee hidden away from the noise of the world as we emerged ourselves in the drama of this tight-knit neighborhood in New York City. Things started off a little slow and quiet for us as we got to know the complex and interesting characters. We were getting sleepy when an unexpected crime hits the block and adds a little noise to this quiet story. We all but one TS woke up and the tension raised in the coulee as we became to see the ripple effect of this crime.

Alternate Side is a humorous and heartwarming story with complex themes cleverly told in a quiet way around the noise of wealth and class. Anna Quindlen does a good job creating a well-developed complex main character here with Nora. We grew to love her as we followed her as she makes her way out of that dead-end path as she starts to discover things about herself, her family and her neighbors.

In the end, all but one TS were left in the barren coulee feeling quite rich from this satisfying story. We recommend!

Published March 20, 2018

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House, and Anna Quindlen for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

All of our Traveling Sisters Reviews can be found on our sister blog:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/

I loved this book. So well written. I found this book unputdownable!!

3.5 Stars rounded up!

ALTERNATE SIDE by ANNA QUINDLEN was an enjoyable, entertaining, and easy read that made me laugh, think, reflect, and ponder.

ANNA QUINDLEN delivers an interesting, insightful, well-written and engaging story here set on a dead-end block in Manhattan. The story is narrated exclusively by Nora and through her perspective we really get an inside look into her thoughts. Her thoughts is what I really enjoyed the most!

ALTERNATE SIDE was a clever title for this story and I enjoyed the double meaning that it had in regards to a tragic event that happens over a dispute about a parking space resulting in alternate viewpoints between the neighbors and also between Nora and her husband Charlie.

Would recommend if you are looking for an easy and quiet read!

This was a Traveling Sisters Read, and as always it was a pleasure reading with them!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House, and Anna Quindlen for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

This book was a surprise. It moves slowly through the everyday life of Nora Nolan, but there are brilliant illustrations of income disparity, the dissolution of a marriage, the way that life unfolds in unexpected ways, sometimes in inconceivable ways.

I don’t know if it’s the timing of when I read it, but this book really inspired me to think deeply about the world around me and my place in it.

Another great book from Anna Quindlen, who is wonderful at illustrating the small details of daily life and making them compelling. The setting and characters of this book gripped me immediately, and I think this would make a great book club choice as there is a lot of potential for discussion.

Gahhhh this book literally just BROKE me! I was sitting here enjoying a nice little story about a couple in New York, doing well for themselves until they slowly start drifting apart. Charlie and Nora live on a street with no outlet where they have raised their twins, who are now off to college, and Charity, the family's nanny you do not want to cross, still helps out around the house, and the dog is getting older but hanging in there. Neighbors are friendly, well, most of them, and you have the typical scenario where one spouse wishes they had a different job but other than that, nothing major between the couple is going on. Until that is, there is a huge incident between the handyman and one of the affluent neighbors that no one on the street is sure either can recover from (it will affect the entire street as well), and Charlie and Nora start to see the cracks in their relationship that have probably been there all along, The remainder of the book shows how each spouse navigates the change in the neighborhood along with the change in themselves.
I can relate personally to this book, and I am also a sucker for all things New York, but I really just loved how simple (uncomplicated, if you will) this story was, but yet, so well written and so relevant for today. Charlie struggles to find his place in the NY investment banking world, and also struggles with Nora being offered positions that challenge his role as head of the house (which is ironic as her ambition is lacking). Nora struggles with her deep love of the city and her growing awareness that Charlie no longer feels this same love for New York. How do you handle loving someone very much, but yet at the same time recognize you no longer are the same two people that married so long ago because you now want two very different things in life? It is a tough question to answer, and Quindlen does a great job trying to in this novel. I will admit, this book may not be for everyone, as it may move too slowly, but I loved every single minute of it, even as I was sobbing at the end. 5 stars.

This book is scheduled to be published Tuesday, March 20th and I without a doubt recommend. Thanks to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley.

“Miller’s Valley” was the first book I read by Anna Quindlen and I was so taken with the characters, the story, her writing in that book. I didn’t end up liking this one as much. The writing is good. I always enjoy books about NYC, and there are some important observations about marriage and how people connect. Quindlen provides food for thought in this book. The dichotomy between the lives of the wealthy people on this street and those who work for them is evident on a daily basis - alternate sides of the socioeconomic spectrum. Nora and Charlie Nolan are the center of this story about what happens on a Manhattan Street and more importantly what happened to their marriage. I got the feeling that Nora and Charlie’s marriage was already in trouble before he got the parking spot, before the “parking lot incident” and not just because of their “alternate sides” on that issue. I get the parking spot thing, although I’ve never had that issue. ****(See my digression below if you’re interested.)

The “parking lot incident “ as it was referred to caused the neighbors to take sides and the true colors of some very unlikable characters come out . The handy man is hurt, the parking lot is closed , needed repairs remained unrepaired , neighbors become enemies, marriages already in trouble get worse. Life goes on - children graduate from college and move on, people change jobs ,people die, people drift apart. Because of the writing and the depiction of some substantial themes, I rate it three stars. I just didn’t find anything extraordinary here as is sometimes possible among the ordinary day to day lives of people. This won’t keep me from reading some of Quindlen’s earlier books which are so highly rated.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Random House through Edelweiss and NetGalley.

****( If you live in a place where you don’t have a parking issue, the amount of time spent on a parking spot in this book might seem over the top. I have always had access to parking be it on the street or a driveway and/ or garage but I can relate because I have family who live in Queens, a borough in NYC , on a narrow street where finding a place to park is nearly impossible. Whenever we visit, we call when we are five minutes away. We will be able to take the parking spot they have been holding for us with a car that will then be moved through a narrow shared driveway to the back of their house so the driveway is not blocked for their neighbors. Sounds unreal but this the way of life they are used to. They are always moving cars around. I get it the obsession with a parking spot in this book. I don’t, though, get the violence but then I have a driveway and a two car garage.)