Tea and Sympathy

There’s a fabulous profile of Zoe Heller, author of The Believers, in today’s New York Times. The article discusses the impetus for her new book, as well as her beliefs when it comes to writing characters. Her aim is to depict human beings honestly—to this end, Zoe Heller is unafraid of unpleasantness. In a particularly memorable quote she says, “I don’t write books for people to be friends with the characters. If you want to find friends, go to a cocktail party.”

The Believers focuses on a dynastic New York family, the Litvinoffs. When their patriarch, radical New York lawyer Joel, is felled by a stroke, his wife, Audrey, uncovers a secret that forces her to reexamine everything she thought she knew about their forty-year marriage. Joel’s children will soon have to come to terms with this discovery themselves, but for the meantime, they are struggling with their own dilemmas and doubts. Rosa, a disillusioned revolutionary, has found herself drawn into the world of Orthodox Judaism and is now being pressed to make a commitment to that religion. Karla, a devoted social worker hoping to adopt a child with her husband, is falling in love with the owner of a newspaper stand outside her office. Ne’er-do-well Lenny is living at home, approaching another relapse into heroin addiction.

In the course of battling their own demons—and one another—the Litvinoff clan is called upon to examine long-held articles of faith that have formed the basis of their lives together and their identities as individuals. In the end, all the family members will have to answer their own questions and decide what—if anything—they still believe in.

Check out this exclusive interview with Zoe Heller, or browse inside the book!