Living Room

The follow-up to her highly praised debut story collection, "The First Hurt," Rachel Sherman's "Living Room" is a beautiful and disarmingly direct portrait of a family in trouble. With the tone of a modern-day Jewish "The Ice Storm" set in Long Island, imbued with Alice Munro's fascination with personal history, "Living Room" is a deep exploration of the ripple effects of mental illness on a family, as well as a look at generational differences in mating and marriage, and a wry, wise look at suburban angst.