Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

New York City serves as a beloved character in Morton's study of a woman who can best be described as a force of nature. A noted feminist writer with an acerbic wit, Florence Gordon tolerates the company of only her oldest and closest friends. She has a former husband who's a less successful writer and a son whose family inhales the cultural richness of the city as they move to New York from Seattle, imposing on Florence. At the same time as her life's work is suddenly thrust into the national spotlight, 75-year-old Florence's health begins to decline. Still, she remains the matriarch of a family that avoids authentic interaction through snappy repartee that needs to be decoded if any real meaning is to be found. It all builds up to one weekend when everyone deceives everyone else on some level; each character must then begin the process of dealing with the consequences of his or her own choices. VERDICT This novel shows us how a woman uses her strengths and her lifelong friendships to face challenges strictly on her own terms. Morton (Starting Out in the Evening) has created an obstreperous, rebellious character who is likable for being true to herself. [See Prepub Alert, 3/31/14.] Susanne Wells, Indianapolis P.L. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Unexpected celebrity and long-absent family members distract a heroically cantankerous 1960s-era activist in the summer of 2009 as she reluctantly confronts the challenges of age.Morton (Breakable You, 2006, etc.) returns to the world of writers with Florence Gordon, a feisty literary lioness of the U.S. feminist movement. At 75, she has a just-published book thats languishing, and despite years away from the limelight, she's embarked on a memoir only to learn that her longtime editor is retiring. No matter: She treasures her solitude and having fun trying to make the sentences come right. Yet fame befalls her in the form of a top critics review of her book in the New York Times. Family matters also intrude. Her ex-husband, a vicious burned-out writer, demands that she use her contacts to get him a job. Her son and his wife are back in New York after years in Seattle. Their daughter, Emily, helps Florence with research and almost warms up the gloriously difficult woman. Then the matriarchs health begins to nag her with strange symptoms. While Florence dominates the book, each person is the center of a world, as Emily thinks, and Morton brings each member of the small Gordon clan to life at a time when there is suddenly much to discover about their world. Hes also strewn the novel with references to books and writers and the craft itself, which is appropriate for the somewhat rarefied settingManhattans historically liberal, bookish Upper West Side, where Mortons characters often dwelland a treat for anyone keen on literary fiction.Always a pleasure to read for his well-drawn characters, quiet insight and dialogue that crackles with wit, Morton here raises his own bar in all three areas. He also joins a sadly small club of male writers who have created memorable heroines. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Morton (Starting Out in the Evening) offers up a fascinating family presided over by the irascible Florence Gordon, a 75-year-old New York City intellectual and feminist activist who likes to surprise, argue, and criticize. Florence never sought public adoration during her long career committed to women's empowerment, but, now that she has been touted as "an American classic" by her young new editor, she finds she likes the attention. Her pending memoir will be her crowning literary achievement, but her family's temporary relocation to New York from Seattle interferes with her process: she considers it an unwelcome intrusion into her well-established routine. Florence's son, Daniel, is a Seattle policeman, an apparently disappointing career choice for the son of a famous feminist, and she cannot understand why she feels so little affection for him. She thinks his wife, Janine, is a vacuous suck-up and also has a difficult time connecting with her inquisitive teenage granddaughter, Emily, although the two eventually develop a tentative rapport. Florence never sees the disaster looming in her son's marriage after an unexpected, life-altering medical diagnosis causes her to make two fateful decisions about her own future. As a strong-willed, independent woman, Florence is comfortable with herself and the manner in which she deals with others-"one of the fine things in life is the difference between what goes on inside you and what you show to the world." Morton's characters are sharply drawn, vivid in temperament and behavior, and his prose smartly reveals Florence's strength and dignity. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* Seventy-five-year-old feminist and activist Florence Gordon, blunt, imperious, intolerant of distractions, has been fighting the good fight in obscurity for decades until now. A front-page review in the book section of the New York Times has called her a national treasure. Suddenly, she is being feted at conferences and profiled in magazines, and her new publisher loves the first draft of her memoir. But there are a few things intruding on her work: she has a nagging fear about her health, and her family has come to New York City for the summer. She can barely tolerate her fawning daughter-in-law, her granddaughter is a cipher, and her son has defied his intellectual upbringing by becoming a cop. But the summer brings a few surprises; she forges a rapport with her granddaughter when she hires her as a researcher and finds that her new fame brings her a great deal of contentment, although she is still capable of launching a few well-placed barbs when her patience is tested. Morton's intelligent, layered portrait of a feisty, independent older woman is an absolute joy to read, not only for its delightful wit but also for its dignified appraisal of aging and living life on one's own terms.--Wilkinson, Joanne Copyright 2014 Booklist