The Latecomer is a very slow, long read/listen. It is full of complex character developments and family drama. I did like some parts of this book. However, some parts felt as it was dragging. The narration was good and clear. I enjoyed how they talked about areas that I know personally. For example, Ithaca, Cornell, and Horseheads. This book is very well written, but it just isnt for me.



Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this Audiobook.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance audio copy of this novel.

I initially DNFed this book, because while it is well written, I found myself uninterested in the lives of the characters. I felt a detachment in their perspectives that kept me from caring about anything happening to them. In addition, all of the parts about art collecting bored me senseless (and continued to bore me throughout the rest of the book). I picked it back up, however, because I was curious about the final quarter of the novel, which reviews told me would be much better. I did enjoy the perspective of Phoebe, the youngest sibling (the "latecomer") far more than that of her siblings, but it felt as though her whole purpose was to bring the family back together. She didn't really get to have her own story, and I would have preferred that she did, but perhaps that was the point. I will read more from this author, certainly (I haven't yet read the very popular "The Plot") but this book mostly just cemented for me that the books I enjoyed ten to fifteen years ago, about dysfunctional rich families who aren't actually doing much of anything interesting besides being rich, are no longer for me.

Review of The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was my first book by this author as I have not yet read The Plot. For those who have read both are they similar? Which did you prefer?

I’m sure you’ve seen many reviews on this one but I had a difficult time writing the review. I enjoyed this book but it was a departure deok my normal reads. As we all know it is long and I listened to audio as well as reading it which really helped. I really like the writing and the story flowed well. It’s definitely more character driven then plot driven but I did find myself very invested in the characters and their stories overall. I absolutely will read more by this author in the future.

Quick synopsis: The book tells the story of a New York City daily named the Oppenheimers. It tells about when the parents first met followed by their struggles with infertility. They deliver healthy triplets with the help of IVF. The triplets grow up and can’t wait to get away from each other and their parents. When they are leaving for college their mother decides she’d like to have another baby; the fourth embryo frozen from the previous IVF. Hence the name of the novel.

Thank you so much to @celadon for the gifted copy.

A good book, that’s. sadly, drug on a bit with information I felt wasn’t contributing to the flow of the story. I did enjoy reading about the complexities and heartbreak throughout the book. The cover is perfect!
Thank you, Macmillan audio and NetGalley for my advance copy!

There is no lost love between the Oppenheimer triplets. The family is a dysfunctional mess until years later when the remaining egg from the earlier IVF treatment becomes the Latecomer. Is it now too late for Phoebe to save the family that has fallen apart? This book was long and drawn out with a cast of unlikable characters until Phoebe hits the scene. From there the book finally becomes more interesting, and while the narration was good, introducing Phoebe after the 300 page mark was much too late to save the book!

I have just listened to the Audio book The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz Narrated by Julia Whelan

This story is of a wealthy New York family, The Oppenheimers

It starts off with a tragedy involving a car accident and a then young Salo Oppenheimer.

As the story progresses Salo marries Johanna. Johanna and Salo have triplets, born with the assistance of in vitro .

The children two sons, and a daughter Harrison, Lewyn and Sally have a very special and privileged life, growing up in a large, restored home, but really do not connect with each other at all. To be frank, they are not the least bit likeable.

It was a unique and intellectual book that was difficult at times to want to listen to, being that the triplets, and most of the characters were not likeable, however at the same time I was compelled to keep listening on.

I thoroughly enjoyed the art collection aspect of the book, as well as the second daughter who was born many years later.

Did I enjoy the book overall yes, and am glad that I listened to it. It was a deep thinking and quite special book with all being said, and extremely well written.

Thank You to NetGalley, Author Jean Hanff Korelitz, Narrator Julia Whelan and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copy to enjoy and review

#NetGalley

I want to scream from the rooftops about this family drama set over the course of the lives of the Oppenheimer family. The Oppenheimer triplets have been averse to each other since they were born. On the brink of escaping to the freedom of college, their parents decide to have a fourth child.

Soon secrets are unraveling, choices are called into question, and sibling rivalry reaches a crescendo. This character-driven story is truly marvelous. Perfect for fans of Ann Patchett and Clare Lombardo.

The Oppenheimer triplets do not get along, well actually, they just don't both to care about each other. When they are just about to set off to college, their mother decides to use a frozen embryo and a surrogate to have another baby since she desperately needs someone to need her. Each sibling, utterly disgusted by this fact, goes about their college experience differently, even though Sally and Lewyn are at the same college, in dorms next door to each other. They all bend the truth to those around them and they are all become lost while trying to find themselves. Fast forward 17 years and “The Latecomer” sister must help piece them all together again.

With a slow start, I was not sure how I was going to feel about the book, but once the layers of the onion started to unpeel, it became an addicting story and I listened to the last 50% of the book in one day. Praise be to the audio book queen Julia Whelan who I knew I couldn’t abandon with a DNF and I am so glad I kept listening to this book!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Very different book. can easily say i have never read something like this, unsure how i feel about the book itself other than it was very long. May have made a good series but overall pretty good, would not have read this if i hadn't gotten it for free however.

This was in incredibly interesting story to read, namely from a pure standpoint of 'how cold and uncaring can this family be to each other?' I struggled at times with this, as each triplet gives the impression they couldn't care less about one another, let alone their mother and father. Is it the vast money that did this to them? Throughout it all, each character faces their own isolation and ambivalence, each struggling to find their way in a world where seemingly every door is opened for them. The resolution (without spoilers), was a nice finish to an otherwise slightly-odd story about a more than slightly-off family. Think The Royal Tenenbaums with more ambivalence.

This is a story about a dysfunctional family That is told through the point of view of the triplets - one who born years after the other two. The parents go through infertility, infidelity, and growing through life and marriage. The story was long and drawn out and made it hard connect with any of them. This maybe because I listened to it- could be different if you read hard copy.

It is interesting to think about having triplets that are years apart and how relationships between siblings grow. There is so much trauma that characters go through and the parents struggle with relationship and connection. The content is heavy and I did need have to read other books while listening to this one so it took me a while to get through it.

I would have rated this book much lower had I not read the last 80 pages, which finally got somewhat interesting. I read the first 250 pages solid all way through via audiobook while driving, but I was bored to tears with it so then I picked up the physical ARC and then I skimmed really hard on the next 175 pages, and then I started actually reading it again; the biggest problem with the book is that there just isn’t much of a…pardon the pun, plot. Coming off the highs of the success of THE PLOT, Korelitz had such high expectations of fans of that novel for this book; and this is just a very very dense, intense character study of siblings and there two parents; it’s a slow burn family drama story that takes 475 pages to unfold that probably could have been told easily in 280-300.

I didn’t hate it; but I definitely didn’t love it. Thanks to Celadon for the arc.

This book was definitely not for me. While the writing was skillful it was not the type of story I enjoy. The build up is very slow and tedious and the story pay off for me just was not there. It was an interesting premise but it was way more drawn out than I prefer.

Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC

#Netgalley

The story about the Oppenheimer family was fascinating, complex, and exhausting all at the same time. Julia Whelan does an excellent job narrating this long and drawn-out story. I had a difficult time relating to any of the characters because they all seemed so disconnected and self-absorbed. The entire story starts to come together in the last few chapters, but getting to the end was quite a journey.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for ARC. #Macmillanaudio, # TheLatecomer

I enjoyed this immensely and found the ending especially satisfying. Except I still cannot understand Phoebe’s college choice. This is my first book by this author and I plan to go back and read some of her earlier work. This was an extremely well written family character study.
As always, Julia Whelan was an excellent narrator.
Thanks to Netgalley.

The Oppenheimer family has a complex history. Salo and Johanna met as the result of a sad set of circumstances. Their lives were further complicated when they required the help of IVF to have children, leading to the birth of their triplets. As time goes on the Oppenheimers grow apart and Johanna begins to wonder what is next for her in her life, leading to the birth of a latecomer, a fourth child that will soon have an effect on the entirety of the Oppenheimer family. 

The Latecomer is an intense novel that contains some serious topics, but it is also a great story. It is slow to start, and has a lot of backstory at the beginning. To be honest, due to this slow start, I very well might not have finished this novel if I had not received an advanced copy. That being said, I would have missed out on a great story had I not finished it. I enjoyed the main characters (well, all but one to be frank) and their relationships and connections to each other. There is an honesty that Jean Hanff Korelitz brings to this novel within its fiction and I am glad that I stuck with this novel.

The audiobook was an enjoyable listen. Julia Whelan did a great job of pulling me into the story with her tone and inflection, and her male voices weren’t annoying; I tend not to enjoy the male voices used by female narrators. The audiobook definitely added to my enjoyment of The Latecomer.

Deeply detailed and extremely thorough is what you will find as you read Korelitz latest literary novel. And nearly every topic is covered - racism, privilege, adultery, infertility, sexual preference, religion - with this one family. But isn’t that what family is? A myriad of all things dramatic?! In essence, it covers life and the dysfunction we all try to function through each and everyday in all of our relations with other humans. You won’t walk away more knowledgeable and you may not remember these characters but you might just walk away knowing you ain’t the only crazy person in this world!

The Latecomer
by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Pub Date: 31 May 2022
Fiction | Contemporary Lit | Jewish American Lit

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞: An epic family drama with layers upon layers of immersive history to savor.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 Review: Jean Hanff Korelitz (The Plot) is expert in knowing the details of her subjects in crafting characters--they are fully formed people--some of whom, in this case, originate from the same batch of fertilized eggs in an early exploration of the world of IVF.

Years of buried trauma, secret longings, emotional instability and withdrawn affection line the walls of the Oppenheimer's lavish New York apartment, obscured by the weight of high art curated by Salo Oppenheimer himself. Salo and Johanna's triplet children feel no strong filial bond especially as their father's presence becomes more withdrawn and their mother's increasingly clingy. In short, they cannot wait to go their separate ways and we follow them as they do throughout college and the decade or so afterward.

The arrival of *perhaps* more than one latent sibling threatens to dismantle or possibly unite the entire Oppenheimer clan--you'll just have to read to find out!

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio & Celadon for the ARC and ALC of this excellent, THICC novel. It was the perfect end cap to my Jewish American heritage month.

Read if you:
🏡 Like family drama
🏡 Enjoyed Herman Wouk's "Marjorie Morningstar"
🏡 Watch Succession
🏡 Want a modern, multigenerational tale

THE LATECOMER by Jean Hanff Korelitz is the type of book that you have to read or listen to the end to appreciate how good the story is. The Oppenheimer family members are dysfunctional and do not know how to love one another. Through a series of events, they will be fractured and through a common denominator they will be mended. You have to be patient with this book… read or listen to it to the end and you will not regret it.

4.5 stars
Thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC of this engaging audio book narrated by Julia Whelan! The Oppenheimer family had triplets after having trouble conceiving and had one frozen embryo left that they decided to bring to the family 17 years later. This story, which is highly character-driven follows the lives of the triplets who really can't stand each other and have no desire to be the cohesive family unit that their mother wants them to be, and the latecomer sibling who has a lot to catch up on by the time she comes along.
I want to call this a slow burn. The beginning had me hooked and I love a good character-driven family story. The slow ascent to climax involved quite a lot of detail about the triplets college years, and at times I wasn't really sure where this was all leading to. Once I got to the 3/4 point, it all made sense, and there were plot points that all weaved together seamlessly, and they absolutely thrilled. After reading The Plot just a few weeks ago, Jean Hanff Korelitz has become an auto-buy author for me. She is an amazing weaver of fiction.