10 hours Ago By Reviewed by Sharon Chisvin
The central moral question at the heart of American author Tova Mirvis’s fourth novel, , is how far someone would be willing to go to protect their family and keep it together. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * The central moral question at the heart of American author Tova Mirvis’s fourth novel, , is how far someone would be willing to go to protect their family and keep it together. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? The central moral question at the heart of American author Tova Mirvis’s fourth novel, , is how far someone would be willing to go to protect their family and keep it together.
In the case of this novel, the answer is “very far.” As begins, the short-lived marriage of Hailey and Jonah is already on the rocks. He has abruptly left her, citing what he considers to be her unhealthy and codependent relationship with her mother Sherry as one of the reasons for doing so.
We Would Never Shocked, sad and scared, Hailey immediately turns to Sherry for support, and soon Sherry and her son Nathan are deeply invested in Hailey and Jonah’s divorce proceedings and custodial fight over their young daughter Maya. In spite of Jonah’s protestations, Sherry and Nathan are determined to make it possible for Hailey and Maya to move from Binghamton, N.Y.
, where they were living with Jonah, to West Palm Beach, Fla., where Sherry and Nathan live. It had always been Sherry’s dream to have her daughter and granddaughter living nearby.
Then, one morning, in the midst of their angry text exchanges, Jonah is murdered in his home, and all the energy and emotion that has been poured into controlling the outcome of the divorce is turned towards controlling the narrative of the murder. Suspicion falls on everyone in the family, especially Sherry. Sherry, as it happens, is the most fully formed character in this uneven work of fiction.
The fact that at least one major character is well developed should be a good thing, of course. The problem, however, is that Sherry’s characterization relies solely on stereotype. Sherry, who is Jewish, is depicted as loyal and loving to her children, but also pushy, aggressive, selfish, superficial, overly sensitive and overbearing.
At the same time, her workaholic and unwell dermatologist husband Solomon and her estranged younger son Adam are almost devoid of personality. Nathan, as her co-conspirator, is fortunately given a little more to work with, particularly as he struggles with questions of family loyalty. He at least is able to acknowledge that “Being so overrun with familial obligation confirmed his lifelong instinct to keep himself at a distance.
Once you stepped too close, you were in danger of being swallowed up.” As for Hailey, even though this is largely her story, she remains flat and one-dimensional, and Jonah too is given short shrift. Although Mirvis shares that Jonah is a professor and author, there’s no attempt to explain his impulsivity, anger management issues and absolute hatred of his mother-in-law from the moment he meets her.
In spite of the lack of character development, the novel’s plot and prose is alluring enough to keep readers engaged and guessing. The fact that the book is based on real-life events — the 2014 murder of Daniel Markel in Florida and his in-laws’ subsequent criminal trials — makes it even more compelling. isn’t a great whodunit or a great family drama, but it has enough intrigue, deceptions, resentments and conspiracies to keep readers turning the page.
Importantly, it also has enough substance to keep readers pondering its big question — just how far would they be willing to go for those they love most, and what they would they be willing to do. Sharon Chisvin is a Winnipeg writer, editor and oral historian. We Would Never: A Novel By Tova Mirvis Simon & Schuster, 368 pages, $39 Advertisement Advertisement.
