‘When I finished This Is Not About Us – I kid you not – I read it a second time … [Goodman] holds fast to the gifts that have marked her since her earliest books: psychological acuity, humour and an abiding curiosity about the volatile chemistry of people bound together by affinity, profession or blood’ – Maureen Corrigan, NPR
‘A nimble, heartfelt, acutely written collection that forms one wonderfully cohesive unit. As Goodman unpacks the little squabbles and triumphs of the Rubinsteins, an expansive Jewish clan in the Northeast, something big emerges. It’s a wise, witty exploration of a contemporary American family, and a deliciously readable book’ – New York Times Book Review
‘Goodman, always talented, is now a virtuoso, limber and graceful. She handles her sprawling cast with a sure, light touch, and her bantering dialogue is never trivial or canned … a welcome addition to any shelf of Goodman’s work’ – The Washington Post
‘Goodman finds the right measure of sugar in this novel-in-stories depicting three generations of Rubinsteins, an East Coast Jewish-American clan tenuously bound by love, ritual and guilt trips … Goodman’s mature and deftly written book suggests that, in family as in art, there is no such thing as uncomplicated happiness’ – The Wall Street Journal
‘Allegra Goodman has written many wonderful novels, but her eleventh, This Is Not About Us, is her crowning glory’ – The Boston Globe
‘In this vibrant collection of linked stories … Allegra Goodman dissects the foibles and fantasies of her cast, from the three founding sisters to their offspring and offspring’s offspring’ – Time Most Anticipated Books of 2026
‘Allegra Goodman’s utterly charming new book is carving out new territory in the genre of linked short stories … A volume that builds and surprises on many fronts, the cacophony of love and discontent reifying into filigreed depictions of the familial ties that bind’ – Vogue Best Books of 2026 Preview
‘A compelling, love-laced portrait of several generations of a family much like yours, mine and just about everyone’s’ – People Magazine
