This one just felt way too long and nothing was happening - very character driven... I liked his previous book but this one was not for me.

For reasons I can't explain, my Advance Reader Copy of this lovely novel sat in my Kindle unexamined for far too long, and only surfaced when I read a glowing review. What was I waiting for?

To describe this as a generational saga is true but not at all the full story. Yes, this is a novel about triplet siblings who simply have no need whatsoever for each other, who are part of a family that in many ways have no need for each other either, and who are drawn back together by time, guilt, maturity and an unexpected force. But the real joy of this book comes from the tone of Korelitz's writing - light, empathetic yet critical at once (and the identify of voice of this narration is just one of the book's surprising pleasures).

I cannot harmonize that the author of this gorgeous, warm, humane novel is the same as that of her recent The Plot, which I found to be a plot-driven exercise. This is an entirely different book, and one that's well worth your time.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the Advance Reader Copy, my review of which is long overdue, to my detriment above all.

The Latecomer is not what I expected at all. I enjoyed the plot - but this felt so much more family drama/character driven - minus a super integral plot until the very, very end.

I'm very impressed by the writing, the prose is so carefully crafted and quite poetic. But I felt like it got bogged down in so many words, and so many details at times that I found myself skimming a bit in hopes that something would happen.

It was hard to really love this one when not one person in the story was very likable - and no-one liked each other which made it that harder to love. I am still quite baffled as to why these triplets hated each there so much. I still don't really get it. And the only semi-likable character, the names sake "latecomer" was too much of latecomer to the story that the enjoyable part f the book (the last 50-75 pages) could t really save this one.

I will definitely pick up what comes next from this author as I really enjoy the writing and careful thoughts that go into their stories - but this one was definitely not for me.

I'll be honest, the chunky size of this one and hearing that it was a slow burner from other readers made me hesitate a little bit on this one, but complicated family stories are some of my favorites so I had to give it a whirl. And wow, this family is definitely living proof that money can't buy everything. The Oppenheimer siblings are raised with wealth and privilege in Brooklyn, but despite their mothers' adament insistence on their closeness, spend essentially their entire lives not just desparate for their own identities outside of their triplethood, but actively wanting to deny even their knowledge of each other. Even tragedy doesn't bring them together, but eventually the namesake latecomer, their younger sister Phoebe, wants to understand all that came before her. It's a long story, but it's incredibly well told, and I grew to really love this massively dysfunctional family (except for Harrison, he is terrible).

The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz follows the Opperneimer family. It starts from the meeting of Salo and Johanna, the parents and their triplets born through IVF. Harrison, Lewyn and Sally are strangely not close nor share that "triplet" bond and they can't wait to go their own separate ways. When the teens leave for college, Johanna decides to have a fourth child! I really enjoy dysfunctional family drama books and reading about different dynamics of families. If you're into these types of books, I highly recommend picking up The Latecomer!

"The Latecomer touches on the topics of grief and guilt, generational trauma, privilege and race, traditions and religion, and family dynamics."

This was just a book I really didn't jive with. I didn't love the characters and found it hard to feel invested. I think this one just wasn't for me not that the book did anything wrong. It felt like so much was happening at once and yet nothing at all was happening for the plot. Definitely more character driven than plot given, like many generational novels. I think that I may enjoy the authors other work and it is clear that her writing is established and done well.

This is the second book that I've read from her. And it didn't disappoint. Love the eerie setting! You know it's a good book when the characters even though they are unlikable you still keep on reading it?

The Latecomer is a sort of sweeping family multi-generational saga that can be so satisfying to read. We first meet Salo, the patriarch, at the turning point in his life. When he goes from being a normal young man to living in deep discontent and regret for the rest of his life. By the time he meets Johanna, he's given up on a lot of things most of us strive for in life and kind of settles.

Johanna's one hope in life is to be a mother and after a lot of trouble, they finally conceive three "test tube" babies. The three children that come from the marriage, Harrison, Lewyn and Sally and all kind of as indifferent as their parents. Salo just kind of trudges through life, Johanna lives for her children, and none of them could care less about any of it, or each other. It isn't until Johanna gives birth to a fourth child, their true sibling who was conceived at the same time as the triplets, but frozen in wait until 18 years later, that a catalyst takes hold of the family and they all being to find their true selves.

The Latecomer is beautifully written and compelling. It's a slow burner, much like it's title and characters suggest. Special thanks to Netgalley and Celedon Books for an advanced egalley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now.

This was a DNF for me. The characters were a little too complex for me to follow everything, and there were SO many characters straddling different times.

I have tried many times to read this book but ultimately I will be not finishing. I hate to DNF but it was just too slow for me.

Great, great book. Story of a dysfunctional family but so original and complex both in the way the story was told and the characters themselves. I enjoyed it from beginning to end!

I apologize for being so late with my review of THE LATECOMER by Jean Hanff Korelitz. This has been out in the world for some time now but I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy courtesy of my friends at Celadon (they have the best titles I swear!). As an only child, I am generally fascinated by tales of siblings - in particular messy ones. In this case, we have the Oppenheimer triplets. I appreciated the unflinching depiction of the complicated relationship between the siblings, which felt like reading a beautifully written version of all of the sibling and family based drama I have watched my friends go through my entire life. Hilarious, frustrating, heartbreaking and totally fascinating. I was a big fan of this novel and cannot wait to read her previous novel THE PLOT, which has been on my TBR for a while now. I would recommend The Latecomer to all of my followers, in particular my fellow fans of Jonathan Franzen, or previous sibling-based novels I enjoyed - The Immortalists comes to mind. Five stars!

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Unfortunately, I have been locked out of my netgalley account for a few months and was not able to see which books I had on my list, in order to properly read and review. I do apologize and am doing a 3 for neutral. Will update once I’m able to obtain a copy and read!

This is a super slow building, character driven story. I don’t think it will be for everyone, especially those that like plot focused stories but once it started coming together, I loved it and could not stop listening until it was finished. The audio for this was great, and I was happy I listened to this one via this medium. I really enjoyed the second half as each of the siblings started to find their way back to each other. There were some great twists in here that were very well done, and this was a brilliantly constructed story that was so well written and one that I did not want to end.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the digital copy to review.

There were many many times I picked up this family drama to get into it. The pacing is incredibly slow and each time I would put it down and try again later. It felt very long and drawn out. Not sure what could’ve hooked me. Something was missing. Beautiful cover and interesting plot idea.

Jean Hanff Korelitz’s books have been hit or miss for me, and The Latecomer fell squarely in the middle. This is a long, multi-generational family saga, that spans from the 60s/70s to the present day, and explores the lives of the Oppenheimers and their triplets – and the “latecomer,” the child brought into the world as the other Oppenheimer children are heading off to college.

Like Korelitz’s other books, the majority of the novel is spent setting up the “aha moment” when all of the pieces come together. While the payoff is worth it in the end, I struggled to get into the first 70% of the book as there is A LOT of table setting to establish the characters and the circumstances that bring them together. I thought the characterizations were strong (Sally was my favorite character) and the ending was well done and I really appreciated how everything came together, but if I’m being honest, I probably would have DNF’d this book if I didn’t need to review it.

That being said, I know there are many people who will love this book. I’ve seen many glowing reviews and I’d recommend The Latecomer to anyone who loves literary fiction, family sagas, and books about art or New York City.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the eARC!

I really tried to like the book. The premise was interesting and I thought it would be a family drama that I would enjoy. Unfortunately, I didn't like the writing style or the characters so it felt like a chore just to get through a few pages at a time. Read other people's reviews, however, before deciding not to try this one because overall it seems like people enjoyed it. Sadly, it just wasn't for me.

I started reading this in print back in the spring, but it wasn't until I picked up the audio version narrated by Julia Whelan—at her urging—that the story really grabbed me. This is the decades-long story of a wealthy Brooklyn family and their triplets—the smart one, the weird one, and the girl—conceived with the help of IVF. For a bevy of reasons this family never quite gelled, and the siblings carry not a trace of affection for each other. Everything changes when the triplets reach college age, and their mother, yearning for some semblance of familial love, decides to thaw the fourth and only remaining embryo and have another child. The arrival of that child—the latecomer—blows up the whole family. Julia called Korelitz's follow-up to The Plot "the definition of a brilliant slow build," and I so enjoyed watching her patiently setup the explosive reveal at a Martha's Vineyard birthday celebration that takes place in September 2001. An unexpected bonus was the thread of modern art that runs through the book: I googled so many artists and works along the way!

The Latecomer is a great story about the dysfunctional (to say the least) Oppenheimers who are rich and absolutely annoying, but the author pulls this off flawlessly where you can’t stand the characters, but it flows with the story. The author did a great job of this. This book had a little bit of everything and isn’t for the faint of heart. Great story and I’d definitely read more from this author!