Maureen Corrigan

Sardonic Jean does inevitably depart, and that's when the mood here darkens, not because of her death, but because of an apple cake that middle sister Sylvia serves at Jean's Shiva.

The apple cake recipe originally came from the eldest Rubenstein sister, Helen.

But Helen is not a gifted baker like Sylvia.

When Sylvia entices the entire extended family to gather around a bunt cake that emits the warm, sweet fragrance of apples, Helen storms out of the shiva, and she refuses to forgive Sylvia for, well...

Goodman postpones the emotionally overwhelming ending to this preposterous and painful family rift till the very last pages of her novel.

The 17 chapters of This Is Not About Us can stand as independent stories, but they accrue power from the subtle ways in which they alter our initial impressions of family members.

Deal Breaker, for example, focuses on Helen's older daughter, Pam, who's in her early 50s and single.

In an earlier story, another character describes Pam as a black hole, someone who, at the best of times, looked askance.

But in Deal Breaker, we see Pam cut to the quick when she realizes the man she loves will always put his ex-wife and teenage daughter first.

That's when her mother Helen's superhuman ability to hold a grudge—remember the apple cake—becomes a quality that fortifies Pam.

Talking with her parents about the reason for the breakup, Pam struggles to characterize her ex-boyfriend's steadfast loyalty to his ex-wife and daughter.

She asks her mother for the word that describes those trees that hold onto their leaves all winter.

Marcessant, says Helen, because she knows the word for everything.

She is such a puzzler.

That's how he is, Pam tells her parents.

Good for him, says Helen, and Pam knows she means good riddance.

Pam can't help but admire her mother's clarity.

Helen is difficult.

She's daunting, but she's crisp.

She never clings.