This book took a bit to get going for me, but then it took off. I truly felt sorry for Fanny and especially Chloe. Charlie is a great character. The character development was great. I loved feeling like I knew these people and was right there in the interactions with each and every one.

The scenes were well drawn out so I really felt I was in the moment with the act scene. I could see myself as if I were a fly in the wall throughout the book.

This book was well laid out and I did enjoy it.

The Trouble with You by Ellen Feldman is a story about loss and perseverance. The novel is set in New York City in the aftermath of World War II. Fanny was raised to be a wife and mother but the sudden loss of her husband set her life on a different course. Alongside Fanny’s story of being a mother with a career, we learn about the McCarthy years, the Hollywood Blacklist and the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee). This book focuses on a unique time in history. The book also contains a great complement of secondary characters who help shape Fanny and the choices she ends up making.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and the author for an eARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Ellen Feldman has written a number of historical fiction novels, imagining events in the lives of the Scottsboro Boys, Anne Frank, Margaret Sanger and others. She has also written novels that bring places and times vividly to life, as for example, in Paris Never Leaves You and, The Living and the Lost.

In The Trouble with You, Feldman again excels in creating a world and characters that are detailed, vivid and real. Just a couple of examples of the accurately described time include trips to the Automat, the fear of polio, and the age of radio serials (soaps). Even more importantly HUAC figures prominently in the story. As many will know that stands for the House Unamerican Activities Committee.

Readers follow Fanny, her friends, family, colleagues and others, including Aunt Rose (an appealing character). When the story opens, Fanny’s future looks bright. Unfortunately it does not remain so when she is widowed at a young age with a child to raise. As a result Fanny needs to work. This is where the radio serial setting enters the story.

Over the course of the novel, Fanny needs to think about what she wants and what she stands for. Does that sound familiar? How will things work out for her?

Fans of more literary historical fiction and those who have read other novels by Ms. Feldman will, I think, want to read The Trouble with You.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

The Trouble With You, historical fiction, is a story that takes place after WWII. Interesting story about women and black listing that takes place during the late 40s and early 50s. Fanny Fabricant, the main character, is a very strong woman so different from many women during this time period who only felt that they needed to be married to be happy. Fanny lost her husband shortly after WWII and is left with a young child to support. She is torn between her cousin Mimi, who believes a woman must be married, and her Aunt Rose, who while single has a very eventful life. Fanny faces a hard decision. This is a great story with a very strong woman at the heart of it.

Definitely didn't like this one as much as Ellen's last novel, but I did enjoy the setting for this one - post-WW2 during the 1940s-1950s "red scare" as it is a time period that I don't know a lot, if anything, about. I also love Chloe as a character, Charlie as a character, and Rose as a character.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for the ARC on Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Post WWII between the 1940s through the 1950’s the reader follows the life of Fanny Fabricant as a young widow. Her life changed as tragedy struck with Fanny losing her husband Max.

The story follows Fanny entering the workforce which was rare for women of her time. Readers are further introduced to Fanny’s Aunt Rose, and love interests Charlie and Ezra.

I found this novel at times slow but I enjoyed following Fanny’s story overall.

Terrific story about the importance of being true to yourself over conforming to society's expectations. A bit of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" type character. I would have loved more scenes in the radio soap world.

3.75 stars

This novel set in the 40s and 50s and featuring the Red Scare and House Un-American Activities Committee was a slow starter for me, but once I got into it I really enjoyed the characters and situations.

Fanny Fabricant, a young widow with a daughter, is the main character. She has a very close relationship with her Aunt Rose, who was a rabble rousing union organizer back in the day. Fanny was devastated by her young husband's death and even three years later has not found her way. She does, at Rose's urging, go to work as a secretary for a group of writers who do radio soap operas.

Fanny wants to keep a low profile. She's not interested in a new relationship. But she finds two interesting men who are totally different and feels herself swept along. She becomes engaged to a doctor, a good man, but one that she has some basic compatibility issues with. She tells herself everything will be all right and it is time for her to move on. But she is intrigued by another man -- less suitable with all kinds of red flags. He's a flirt, he plays the horses, and the really serious thing is that he has been blacklisted as a writer because he was a member of the Communist Party in his younger days.

The story unfolds and we get to watch Fanny heal enough to start evaluating her life and desires. It was a pleasure spending time with her. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I applaud the author’s ability to really research the time period after World War II. Unfortunately, this book was a really slow read for me. It took until midpoint before I became slightly engaged with the content. In a time when women were frowned upon working, we meet Franny. Franny is recently widowed and has a young daughter to provide for and raise. Fanny finds herself being forced to work, which in turns makes her gossiped about. The reader follows her story with twists and turns; highs and lows. I am glad I finished this book, although it is not one I will think back on.

It is post World War II, and we meet Fanny Fabricant, her husband, Max, and their daughter Chloe.

Fanny was the lucky one because her husband came back from the war.

She wasn’t lucky for too long, though, because her life changed one night.

We follow Fanny as she goes to work much to the gossiping of other women at this time because women didn't work, but she had no choice.

THE TROUBLE WITH YOU dragged until mid point, caught my interest after that, but it still wasn’t a book I was anxious to get back to even though Ms. Feldman’s writing and research were well done.

My favorite character was Chloe…she was so sweet and innocent.

Fanny was a well-thought-out character and one ahead of her time.

I enjoyed following Fanny and was hoping for the best for her in the social attitudes of this era.

The ending was satisfying, and the book will be enjoyed by historical fiction fans and women’s fiction fans. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

In New York City after the end of World War II, Fanny Fabricant, along with her daughter Chloe, welcomed her husband Max home from the war in The Trouble with You by Ellen Feldman arriving on bookshelves February 20. A college graduate, Fanny thought she was prepared for a life as a wife and mother until tragedy struck the young family.

Fanny soon finds herself selling her home and in dire need of finding work. With a cum laude degree in the liberal arts from Barnard College, she could not find a job calling for that kind of background. With the help of her Aunt Rose who knows Alice Anderson, a writer of radio serial scripts, Fanny secured the job of Alice’s secretary to support herself and Chloe.

Two men eventually attract her attention: Charlie Berlin, another script writer who is a step away from being blacklisted during the McCarthy Era, and Ezra Rapaport, a pediatrician who wants to marry Fanny partly to rescue her from working to support her child who is his patient.

But Fanny does not want to quit work if she remarries because her boss is giving her a chance to write some scripts, and Fanny genuinely enjoys her job. Charlie appreciates Fanny’s efforts at script writing and soon talks a reluctant Fanny into being his “front” once he is blacklisted. While both men love her, Ezra wants to turn her back into a housewife, and Charlie cannot marry her or she would be blacklisted by association. Which pathway forward will Fanny choose?

Ellen Feldman is well educated like her protagonist Fanny as she attended Bryn Mawr College, from which she holds a B.A. and an M.A. in modern history, and she did graduate studies in history at Columbia University. Having worked for a New York publishing house, Feldman writes both fiction and social history, and has published articles on the history of divorce, plastic surgery, Halloween, and many other topics. She lives with her husband in New York.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting January 5, 2024.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

I love this historical book! These are my favorites. I can't imagine living in this time and having to start over like this! I couldn't put it down!

Thank you NetGalley and Ellen Feldman for the change to read this one!

I have been the beneficiary recently of some really great historical fiction not focused on World War II. The latest one, The Trouble with You, also gets major props for not being a dual timeline. It does go back and forth some between Fanny and her daughter Chloe, and I don’t really think Chloe’s perspective adds a whole lot, but that’s my biggest downside to this book. The book starts, essentially, with Fanny’s husband Max shipping out during the war. But the majority of the book takes place after Max dies unexpectedly not long after returning from war. Suddenly Fanny is in the position of trying to financially support herself and Chloe after being raised in a society that primarily values women for their role as wife and mother. Forced to find a job, Fanny actually ends up enjoying what she does and the people she meets along the way. This includes sensationalist Charlie Berlin, whose bark is way more scandalous than his bite. But she also meets Ezra Rapaport, a doctor who knew her husband and has many similarities to him, on the surface at least. The story does technically have that love triangle, but it really isn’t a love story. It’s really about Fanny trying to sort out if and which man is the right fit for her, or is who she thinks is the right choice according to societal expectations. This exploration (and her very forward thinking Aunt Rose) leads her to question if she really wants to give up what she’s gained to go back to just being a wife and mother. On a historical perspective, the story explores the Red Scare and how many people in the entertainment industry where Fanny works were blacklisted because someone deemed their actions subversive. It adds weight to the story and provides context to the time when the book takes place while allowing Fanny and her choices to be the primary focus of the story. I didn’t know where this one was going to go when I started, found my allegiances shifting some during the story, and was really happy with the direction it took. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was so excited to when I heard that Feldman had a new book. I have always been a fan of her work.

This is a story set in NYC post WW2. Fanny is living the dream life. Her physician husband has safely returned from serving in the military during the war. They have a young daughter and life seems to be perfect until it isn't.

Fanny is forced to reinvent her life. Will she choose the easy life that doesn't push against social norms or will she follow her heart?

Possible triggers: Spousal loss and sudden death

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I loved the premise of The Trouble With You - a sort of pre-women’s lib exploration of a young woman having to break out of the expected role of wife and mother. As WWII ended, even women that wanted to continue working were expected to give up their jobs and return to the hearth. Not that Fannie wanted to be different. But sudden widowhood upended her expected life. But then, she discovers she likes working. The story also deals with McCarthy and the HUAC.
The story was slow to start and I really struggled to engage with the main character. The book was almost half over before it started drawing me in. I never got over my feeling that the writing was a bit too simple and the main character a bit too bland. But at least the plot improved, mainly down to the secondary characters like Ava, Charlie and Rose, and the impact the HUAC had on people’s lives. I would have liked more of that and less on the oh so predictable romantic life of Fannie. This was an easy read. But i felt it needed more depth.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this.

Feldman selected a very interesting subject matter of Hollywood “blacklisting” along with loss and grief. I found a well-researched and well-written story. Characters were eclectic grabbing your attention along with a creative narrative thus making a great read. Looking forward to more Ellen Feldman

I'm a sucker for historical fiction about a plucky working woman. Especially one during WWII or post US WWII. Fanny’s evolution from her role as a traditional married housewife and mother in the 1940s to widowed, single mother and working woman in the 1950s wasn't unusual, but her enjoyment of her work was. She loved working and loved being in the world. She embraced her independence and freedom.

This is a story of evolution and American history with the inclusion of McCarthyism and Polio, as well as the struggle of working women in a post war society. Ellen Feldman did a fantastic job at capturing the heart of Fanny and her family.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Set in New York City as the men return home from WW2, this is the story of Fanny Fabricant, a young mother who must forge a life for herself and her young daughter during a time when the acceptable role for a woman was wife, mother and homemaker. With a college degree in hand and dreams of being a writer, Fanny takes a secretarial position for a female boss who has several successful radio serial programs “soaps” on air. Fanny loves her job and is quickly learning facets of the industry, especially what is transpiring for creative types that get blacklisted due to their socialist beliefs.

With themes of working women and single parenthood in the 1950’s, the blacklist era of the McCarthy years and the discovery of finding one’s passion and being true to oneself, Ms Feldman has delivered a riveting story with multi generational characters navigating through the expectations for women prior to the changing societal times.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin and Ellen Feldman for providing me the opportunity to read this wonderful story in exchange for my honest opinion. Publication date: February 20, 2024

What a wonderful book and so relevant to the issues women are facing today. It’s the story of a young woman who loses her husband suddenly after he returned home safely from World War ll. She is left with a small child to raise and forced to find work in a time when women working was frowned upon. Fanny was a woman ahead of her time and her story was inspiring. Chloe, Charlie, and all the characters were believable and were so well written. I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Although she attended one of the “sister” schools, Fanny was raised in a time when education for a woman was to prepare her for being a wife and mother. Faced with the financial strain of raising a child on her own, she takes a job as a secretary for a very popular radio serial (never a “soap”!) and is soon faced with a situation in which she must choose between what is safe and what her conscience and her heart tell her to do. Fortunately, she has the influence of her Aunt Rose, a woman before her time, who provides sage advice and encourages her in all her pursuits.

I really liked this book and could not put it down. It deals with very important historical issues: the role and treatment of women in the 1950s and McCarthyism and blacklisting. I liked the characters and their evolvement over time. Well written, with touches of suspense, I don’t want to say much more about the story in order to avoid spoilers. What really struck and frightened me in reading this was what happened in politics in the 1950s with McCarthyism and the fact that we are seeing some of the same behaviors and activities occurring today in our society.

The timeframe of this book is the late 1940s through 1968, although most of the plot takes place in the 50s. There are some thought provoking topics here for book club discussions.