Review by Booklist Review
Ellen is increasingly sure that reentering the dating scene at her age is more trouble than it's worth. Everyone already has baggage and a life full of bad habits, inside jokes, and family lore. But she feels drawn to Gary, who seems patient and self-aware and understands that delicate balance between loving your children and being utterly bewildered by them. Weighing the appeal of a fresh start against the labor of getting to know someone new, Ellen and Gary's courtship is refreshingly realistic. Employing an ensemble cast with Ellen and Gary at its core, Kauffman (The House on Fripp Island, 2020) opens the story with the pair's blind date before widening her net to include perspectives from friends and family members and flashbacks to key moments in each family's history, giving extra weight to the formative experiences in each character's life. Tender and charming, I'll Come to You candidly exposes generational gaps in understanding and will appeal to fans of Jonathan Tropper and Amy Jo Burns.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This finely tuned family drama from Kauffman (Chorus) takes place over one year in an unremarkable middle American town, as a new grandfather deals with dementia. It's 1995, and Bruce's wife, Janet, can't bring herself to tell their adult children about his cognitive decline. Their daughter, Corrine, finally has a new baby girl after an arduous struggle to conceive with her husband, Paul. Her brother, Rob, meanwhile, can't accept that his ex-wife has moved on to another relationship. Kauffman also explores fissures in Paul's family, as Paul resents his father for leaving his mother, Ellen, a sweet, hardworking school bus driver, who's surprised herself by finding a new boyfriend. After all the characters get together on a snowy, fateful Christmas Eve, the siblings bicker until a life-threatening event forces them to put aside their differences. The author has drawn authentic and believable portraits of these flawed but decent people as they negotiate life's upheavals. Ellen, whose reward for 35 years of driving a school bus is a $35 Kmart gift certificate, delivers the novel's poignant epitaph: "I'm gonna get myself together here, then I'll come to you." Kauffman's fans will love this. Agent: Michelle Tessler, Tessler Literary. (Jan.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Kauffman tells the story an extended family during times of transition and yearning. This quiet novel about the joys and anguishes of family relationships starts with an awkward dinner in January, 1995, between two divorced people who don't seem to hit it off. Ellen and Gary's bad date sets off a chain of vignettes that encompasses Ellen's son, Paul; his wife, Corinne; their baby-to-be; and Corinne's family over the course of a year. By 50 pages in, readers have met the wide cast of characters, learned what each person is hoping for, and how powerless or inadequate each of them feels. Every chapter is named for the month, ending in December. It's not clear why the book is set in 1995 except that common use of cell phones could have taken the tension out of a few key scenes, and no specific cultural or historical moments are referenced. Kauffman takes time to explore the inner lives of her characters, some more than others, and each character's vulnerabilities are made clear through the compassionate narration. Corinne's brother, a car salesman, uses cash left over from a failed bachelor party to paper over the awkwardness of a career-day speech that embarrasses his sons. In a heartbreaking scene, Corinne's mother, Janet, attempts to hide her husband's dwindling memory with Just For Men hair dye. Physical injury and a missed baby shower ensue. Throughout, the characters are grasping at what they hold dear, fighting insecurities and jealousies that coexist with desperate love and hope. Kauffman sets a scene that ultimately allows for generosity and togetherness. Thoughtful characterization and light humor make for a pleasant, if not gripping, novel. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
