S. F. Prescott

Surprising and hilarious!

Taffy Brodesser-Akner is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and the New York Times bestselling author of Fleishman Is in Trouble, which has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She is also the creator and executive producer of its Emmy-nominated limited series adaptation for FX. Long Island Compromise is her second novel.

Published July 9th, 2024.

“Were we gangsters? No. But did we know how to start a fire?”

I’m so happy to have discovered Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s work! I’ve never been so invested in characters like I was with the cast of Long Island Compromise. It was a little on the long side compared to what I normally read at 464 pages, but I loved every minute. It’s about family, privilege, and trauma that pulls you in and keeps you hooked, rooting for each character in a different way. It felt like I was watching a drama series similar to HBO’s Succession capturing the darkness of each flawed character and revealing their uniquely turbulent worlds.

I love a story about rich people behaving badly! Decades after Carl Fletcher is kidnapped and held for ransom, he, his wife, Ruth, and their (now grown) children are still deeply affected by the trauma of the brutal incident. The way the author made me feel empathy for these awful characters was impressive. Immediately, I was sucked into their lives and although I couldn’t relate to their excessive wealth, some of the general anxiety they experienced—in particular with Nathan’s character—was easier to understand. Beamer’s narrative was the most cringe-worthy and entertaining to follow but might have also been the most self-destructive. Jenny’s inability to commit to anything and the never ending search for belonging was sad to read. Considering all the resources they had available, it was surprising not one of them managed to cope with everyday life. The pace was steady and I found the author’s voice compelling and thoroughly enjoyable.

For readers who enjoy character driven stories with rich dialogue that pulls you in. Who knew trauma could be so hilariously entertaining!

Synopsis:

In 1980, a wealthy businessman named Carl Fletcher is kidnapped from his driveway, brutalized, and held for ransom. He is returned to his wife and kids less than a week later, only slightly the worse, and the family moves on with their lives, resuming their prized places in the saga of the American dream, comforted in the realization that though their money may have been what endangered them, it is also what assured them their safety.

But now, nearly forty years later, it’s clear that perhaps nobody ever got over anything, after all. Carl has spent the ensuing years secretly seeking closure to the matter of his kidnapping, while his wife, Ruth, has spent her potential protecting her husband’s emotional health. Their three grown children aren’t doing much better: Nathan’s chronic fear won’t allow him to advance at his law firm; Beamer, a Hollywood screenwriter, will consume anything—substance, foodstuff, women—in order to numb his own perpetual terror; and Jenny has spent her life so bent on proving that she’s not a product of her family’s pathology that she has come to define it. As they hover at the delicate precipice of a different kind of survival, they learn that the family fortune has dwindled to just about nothing, and they must face desperate questions about how much their wealth has played a part in both their lives’ successes and failures.