At Last
Helene Simonauer and Evelyn Turner are two completely different people. Though they have Judaism in common, their attachments to it are as different as their childhoods, upbringings, attitudes towards marriage, childrearing, behavior, and… well, just about everything. Their shared drama begins when their children meet by chance, for which Helene will forever blame herself. The competition, and the story, begins the day before Tom and Ruth’s wedding, peaking years later, over the one thing they have in common—the love of Francie, the granddaughter they share.
At Last is more than a story about two competitive women. It is a generational story about pain. Using third person, Silver shifts in time and place—from Wheeling, West Virginia, and Omaha, Nebraska, in the late 1930s, to Cleveland in the 1960s—to give glimpses into Helene and Evelyn’s pasts and the formative events that shaped their lives. Both women are strong, independent, selfish, and infuriatingly obstinate. Even though one may occasionally want to shake some sense into them, Silver crafts the two so well that one understands they are doing their best. Each struggles to be recognized and accepted for who they are. Other chapters from Tom, Ruth, and Francie’s point of view shed light on inherited wounds. The concluding chapter in Francie’s first-person viewpoint provides a glimmer of hope. Beautifully written, with Judaism lightly woven into the fabric (a pleasure to read), Silver probes into childhood wounds that never heal and continue to weep, causing the characters to alienate (at best) and injure (at worst), those they love. At Last is an unforgettable, beautiful story. Highly recommended, but not if you’re looking for a light read.
