First published 1980
The memorial service was supposed to follow tradition, but no one anticipated the stranger who rises to speak. In Johanna Kaplan's novel, the protagonist finds themselves at the center of a gathering that becomes something entirely different when an unexpected voice disrupts the planned proceedings. The uninvited speaker transforms what should have been a predictable ceremony into something that forces everyone present to confront uncomfortable truths. As the service unfolds, relationships strain and family dynamics shift under the weight of revelations that no one saw coming. The protagonist must navigate between loyalty and honesty, between what others expect and what the moment demands. This disruption becomes a catalyst that exposes the gap between public faces and private realities, leaving everyone to reckon with what they thought they knew about the deceased and each other.
Genres: american-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Period: 21st-Century
286 pages · Hardcover · Harper & Row