Genre Fiction
![Laura Zigman - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B000APGK0E.jpg)
Small World: A Novel
"[A] brave and heartfelt book of truths."-New York Times Book Review (A Group Text Pick and Editors' Choice)
From bestselling author Laura Zigman comes a heartfelt novel about two offbeat and newly divorced sisters who move in together as adults-and finally reckon with their childhood
A year after her divorce, Joyce is settling into being single again. She likes her job archiving family photos and videos, and she's developed a secret comforting hobby: trolling the neighborhood social networking site, Small World, for posts that help solve life's easiest problems. When her older sister, Lydia, also divorced, calls to tell her she's moving back east from Los Angeles after almost thirty years away, Joyce invites Lydia to move into her Cambridge apartment. Temporarily. Just until she finds a place of her own.
But their unlikely cohabitation-not helped by annoying new neighbors upstairs-turns out to be the post-divorce rebound relationship Joyce hadn't planned on. Instead of forging the bond she always dreamed of having with Lydia, their relationship frays. And they rarely discuss the loss of their sister, Eleanor, who was significantly disabled and died when she was only ten years old. When new revelations from their family's history come to light, will those secrets further split them apart, or course correct their connection for the future?
Written with wry humor and keen sensitivity, Small World is a powerful novel of sisterhood and hope-a reminder that sometimes you have to look back in order to move ahead.
From bestselling author Laura Zigman comes a heartfelt novel about two offbeat and newly divorced sisters who move in together as adults-and finally reckon with their childhood
A year after her divorce, Joyce is settling into being single again. She likes her job archiving family photos and videos, and she's developed a secret comforting hobby: trolling the neighborhood social networking site, Small World, for posts that help solve life's easiest problems. When her older sister, Lydia, also divorced, calls to tell her she's moving back east from Los Angeles after almost thirty years away, Joyce invites Lydia to move into her Cambridge apartment. Temporarily. Just until she finds a place of her own.
But their unlikely cohabitation-not helped by annoying new neighbors upstairs-turns out to be the post-divorce rebound relationship Joyce hadn't planned on. Instead of forging the bond she always dreamed of having with Lydia, their relationship frays. And they rarely discuss the loss of their sister, Eleanor, who was significantly disabled and died when she was only ten years old. When new revelations from their family's history come to light, will those secrets further split them apart, or course correct their connection for the future?
Written with wry humor and keen sensitivity, Small World is a powerful novel of sisterhood and hope-a reminder that sometimes you have to look back in order to move ahead.
Editorial Reviews
"The novel is as poignant as it is funny, as thought-provoking as it is witty, and searingly relatable." - Washington Post
"Zigman's tenderly told novel is a realistic rendering of what it's like to care for and love a disabled child, and the toll that love takes on parents and siblings. It's also about the bonds that sisters share and how, in the case of the Mellishmans, unresolved grief nearly breaks them...[but] laced with the promise of a brighter future." - Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Zigman is terrific at melding heartbreaking situations with humorous, evocative details without once veering off into saccharine sentimentality…Zigman's ability to elicit the transformative magic that happens when people find true connection with others makes these pages glow." - Boston Globe
"A graceful swan dive into the question of how a family rearranges itself after the death of a child…a brave and heartfelt book of truths." - New York Times Book Review
"Zigman's quirky novel confronts the most painful family issues and is equally knowing-and funny-about what brings comfort and grace." - People
"Entrancing. . . . Zigman does a stellar job of creating well-rounded characters, and a satisfying ending tops off her well-crafted paean to sisterhood. Readers will love this." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"I absolutely loved Small World -- a wise, warm, and often hilarious exploration of sisterhood and community, set against a nuanced portrait of one family's tragic past." - Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures
"Like all of Laura Zigman's books, Small World is wryly funny and sharply observed. But this moving story of two adult sisters reconnecting in midlife also tackles some weighty subjects-family secrets, disability, abandonment-with unusual grace and sensitivity."
- Tom Perrotta, author of Tracy Flick Can't Win
"Hilarious, wise, and deeply moving--I loved my time with the Mellishman sisters and didn't want it to end. No one captures the tragicomedies of life quite like Laura Zigman, whose compassion and brillian...
"Zigman's tenderly told novel is a realistic rendering of what it's like to care for and love a disabled child, and the toll that love takes on parents and siblings. It's also about the bonds that sisters share and how, in the case of the Mellishmans, unresolved grief nearly breaks them...[but] laced with the promise of a brighter future." - Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Zigman is terrific at melding heartbreaking situations with humorous, evocative details without once veering off into saccharine sentimentality…Zigman's ability to elicit the transformative magic that happens when people find true connection with others makes these pages glow." - Boston Globe
"A graceful swan dive into the question of how a family rearranges itself after the death of a child…a brave and heartfelt book of truths." - New York Times Book Review
"Zigman's quirky novel confronts the most painful family issues and is equally knowing-and funny-about what brings comfort and grace." - People
"Entrancing. . . . Zigman does a stellar job of creating well-rounded characters, and a satisfying ending tops off her well-crafted paean to sisterhood. Readers will love this." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"I absolutely loved Small World -- a wise, warm, and often hilarious exploration of sisterhood and community, set against a nuanced portrait of one family's tragic past." - Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures
"Like all of Laura Zigman's books, Small World is wryly funny and sharply observed. But this moving story of two adult sisters reconnecting in midlife also tackles some weighty subjects-family secrets, disability, abandonment-with unusual grace and sensitivity."
- Tom Perrotta, author of Tracy Flick Can't Win
"Hilarious, wise, and deeply moving--I loved my time with the Mellishman sisters and didn't want it to end. No one captures the tragicomedies of life quite like Laura Zigman, whose compassion and brillian...
Readers Top Reviews
lisa O.carilynp
I was interested in the sister aspect. Neither were compelling.
TA Readsalot
Alice Hoffman recommended! Which should tell you everything. Bc even if you don't trust me, trust her. This book is wonderful. Beautiful, poignant, sad, hopeful and utterly human. It walks us between childhood and adulthood, understanding and confusion. The world through the lense of a child and then looking back with years of experience, as an adult to see it all differently. To heal. There's no one big emotional moment or discovery, but it comes in stages, in frustration and forgiveness and it's a journey I am glad to have gone on with these sisters. All three of them.
LGZBrooklyn
I read Laura Zigman sooo many years ago with Animal Husbandry and was excited she’s out with a new novel. This book follows two 50ish year old, divorced sisters who come together many years after being separated by distance and family Tragedy. We learn that their sister who died when she was only ten was disabled and their mother put all of her effort into caring for her: leaving the other two girls feeling neglected and untethered. There are interspersed entries from a local message board that are both hilarious and poignant. And the reflections of the main character both in the present and past are equally funny and touching. I loved the writing, the pov, th e story. It’s a slower one so some folks may feel not enough “happens” but this is just the kind of book I enjoy. 4+ stars
Luanne Ollivier
Small World is Laura Zigman's new novel. What's it about? Family. Two sisters - Joyce and Lydia - find themselves sharing an apartment after their divorces. This proximity has them reliving and often reverting to childhood behaviour. But can this close physicality perhaps help them to confront and deal with unresolved issues as well? I loved that Joyce and Lyndia were not cookie cutter characters. They're both quirky and believable. I didn't love them all the time, but quite liked them. Perhaps because Zigman has captured the truth with her characters? Small World is told in a past and present narrative. This style of storytelling gives the reader aha moments as the 'why' pieces of the present snap into place. The book was a slow burn for the first part, but picked up momentum as part two brings supporting players to the table - and more issues. Or perhaps not... Zigman captured the emotions and hurts alongside the joy and acceptance. On reading the author's notes, I discovered there is more than a little of her own experiences woven into the book. An excellent read on many fronts. And I have to say, I stopped more than once, reflecting on my own familial ups and downs. Zigman is a very talented wordsmith. Oh, and there are also many entries from a neighbourhood online group (called Small World) that have been turned into poetry by Joyce. I quite enjoyed them!
Too Fond Of BooksXi
I know someone in real life who basically had to raise herself because all of her parents' attention was focused on her autistic brother. This novel has a similar premise, about two sisters who grew up feeling neglected because all of their mother's nurturing was focused on a third, disabled, sister. A middle-aged woman, Lydia, moves in "temporarily" with her sister Joyce. Both are divorced. Both are socially awkward and avoid discussing problems. Both work from home and don't leave the apartment much, which gives the story a claustrophobic feel. I didn't find either of the sisters very likable, and nothing much happens. There is a conflict with some upstairs neighbors, but Joyce mostly just whines about it. This is a slow-moving novel that examines family dynamics and the relationship between two sisters.
