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| Thank you to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. |
For readers of Rules of Civility and The Marriage Plot, Joanna Hershon’s A Dual Inheritance is an engrossing novel of passion, friendship, betrayal, and class—and their reverberations across generations.
Autumn 1962: Ed Cantowitz and Hugh Shipley meet in their final year at Harvard. Ed is far removed from Hugh’s privileged upbringing as a Boston Brahmin, yet his drive and ambition outpace Hugh’s ambivalence about his own life. These two young men form an unlikely friendship, bolstered by a fierce shared desire to transcend their circumstances. But in just a few short years, not only do their paths diverge—one rising on Wall Street, the other becoming a kind of global humanitarian—but their friendship ends abruptly, with only one of them understanding why.
Can a friendship define your view of the world? Spanning from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the present-day stock market collapse, with locations as diverse as Dar es Salaam, Boston, Shenzhen, and Fishers Island, A Dual Inheritance asks this question, as it follows not only these two men, but the complicated women in their vastly different lives. And as Ed and Hugh grow farther and farther apart, they remain uniquely—even surprisingly—connected.
my thoughts:
A Dual Inheritance is a well written novel about the decades long friendship between two college classmates. We get to know them as they get to know one another. We see these young men grow up into adults and become husbands and fathers. There is Ed, the guy from the wrong side of the tracks who is focused on making something of himself; and then there is Hugh, the guy who was born into money and privilege (the world that Ed so desperately wants to be a part of). As these two men struggle to figure out their lives, their friendship blossoms and then abruptly ends (can't say why, because I don't want to spoil anything). We see the different paths their lives take them on and get to meet their daughters - who wind up attending the same boarding school and befriending one another (a sign that perhaps Ed and Hugh are always meant to be in one another's lives?).
All I can say is that Hershon has outdone herself with this terrific book about friendship, family, love, and life. The beginning is a bit slow-paced and takes awhile to get into, but once you are in, well, you are in for the count. You won't want to put the book down for anything - believe me, I didn't. I passed on phone calls, television, and even dessert just so I could keep on reading. I loved the engaging characters and intriguing story line - this book kept my interest the whole way through. Of course, I love character-driven stories, especially ones about friendship - so, this book was right up my alley. I would definitely recommend this book (and believe me, I will!).
GIVEAWAY: Thanks to the publisher and TLC Book Tours I have one copy of A Dual Inheritance to give away!! All you have to do is leave me a comment and your name will be thrown in the hat to win. Oh, don't forget to include your email addresses, so that I can contact you if you win. US residents only! The giveaway runs through May 30th. Good luck!!
