The Enemy of the Good

Members of an extraordinary family endure the bitter clash of liberalism and fundamentalism in this absorbing novel. The Glanville clan includes Edwin, a retired bishop who has lost his faith; his wife Marta, a controversial anthropologist and child of the Warsaw Ghetto; their son, Clement, a celebrated gay painter traumatized by the death of his twin; and their daughter, Susannah, a music publicist recovering from an affair with a convicted murderer. Each of them must face down a personal demon—Clement’s work and reputation are violently attacked and his privacy is shattered, Susannah's exploration of the kabbalah transports her into the closed world of Chassidic Jews and a seemingly impossible love, and Edwin’s illness forces Marta to confront the horrors of her past. These memorable figures are portrayed with wit, wisdom, and shattering emotional power.