The dazzling Orange Prize shortlisted novel of a family in crisis
When We Were Bad: A Novel
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
-
Seasonal Offer:
This title is part of our Seasonal Offers promotion.
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
'Charlotte Mendelson's novel follows her previous two in focusing on British Jewish family life' -- Daily Telegraph
'Combining frankness with a sharp and intelligent humour, When We Were Bad is an irresistible treat.'
-- Guardian
'Mendelson combines a scattering of Jewish vernacular, wit, and appealing character portraits in her warm prose.' -- Culture, Sunday Times
'Now this intense and funny tale of a priceless family ruled by a glamorous female rabbi is back.'
-- Jewish Chronicle
'Relentlessly good; crammed with brilliant, skewering details, for which Mendelson has a magpie's eye.' -- The Observer - Pick of the Paperbacks 2008
'This is the wickedly funny and poignant story of a Jewish family in crisis, beautifully observed and painfully authentic.' -- Daily Mail
'When We Were Bad is relentlessly good: crammed with brilliant, skewering details, for which Mendelson has a magpie's eye.' -- Observer
'With not a work wasted, this elegant and witty drama is part family saga and part romantic comedy...' -- LondonCareers.net Magazine
`Charlotte Mendelson's portrait of a Jewish family in crisis is both extremely funny and acutely painful...' -- Sunday Telegraph
`full of cute characterisation and bone-dry detail.' -- The Scotsman
'Combining frankness with a sharp and intelligent humour, When We Were Bad is an irresistible treat.'
-- Guardian
'Mendelson combines a scattering of Jewish vernacular, wit, and appealing character portraits in her warm prose.' -- Culture, Sunday Times
'Now this intense and funny tale of a priceless family ruled by a glamorous female rabbi is back.'
-- Jewish Chronicle
'Relentlessly good; crammed with brilliant, skewering details, for which Mendelson has a magpie's eye.' -- The Observer - Pick of the Paperbacks 2008
'This is the wickedly funny and poignant story of a Jewish family in crisis, beautifully observed and painfully authentic.' -- Daily Mail
'When We Were Bad is relentlessly good: crammed with brilliant, skewering details, for which Mendelson has a magpie's eye.' -- Observer
'With not a work wasted, this elegant and witty drama is part family saga and part romantic comedy...' -- LondonCareers.net Magazine
`Charlotte Mendelson's portrait of a Jewish family in crisis is both extremely funny and acutely painful...' -- Sunday Telegraph
`full of cute characterisation and bone-dry detail.' -- The Scotsman
Book Description
'The Rubin family, everybody agrees, seems doomed to happiness' Claudia Rubin is in her heyday. Wife, mother, rabbi and sometime moral voice of the nation, everyone wants to be with her at her older son’s glorious February wedding. Until Leo becomes a bolter and the heyday of the Rubin family begins to unravel . . . ‘As intelligent as it is funny. A beautifully observed literary comedy as well as a painfully accurate description of one big old family mess’ Observer ‘Fast-paced and engaging. Brilliant, touching and true’ Naomi Alderman, Financial Times ‘Absolutely spellbinding, so funny, so moving, so totally believable’ Jacqueline Wilson ‘Intelligent and witty. The Rubin family may be a singular one but the delights and the difficulties its members have with sex and spirituality, food and domesticity, expectation and achievement, will have a universal appeal’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Funny and emotionally true, this is a comedy with the warmest of hearts and the most deliciously subversive of agendas’ Book of the Month, Marie Claire When We Were Bad is a warm, poignant and true portrayal of a London family in crisis, in love, in denial and – ultimately – in luck..
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mendelson takes us to a very special wedding on the first page of this witty and socially incendiary novel. The Rubin family have turned out to see one of their members, their first son Leo, married before his Rabbi mother Claudia, easily the most exotic, creature in the world: `No one is interested in you. There is one star of this show: tall and distractingly voluptuous in sea-green silk devore. With her in their mist...who could not be happy?' Yet Leo strangely has other plans. He elopes before the congregation with the seductive wife of the presiding Rabbi and precipates the whole Rubin family into chaotic disarray. Claudia's control begins to slip. Her dutiful daughter Frances, once gratefully married to the monstrously complacent Jonathan, falls for the `boyfriend' of her younger sister and finds that attraction has its own surprises and rewards. Rebellion mounts and even Claudia's steady husband Norman has his own preoccupations and secrets. Mendelson's writing delights in its frothy intelligence, sudden illumination and underlining compassion for the disordering impulses that may unravel our tried and tested lives, yet also redeem us, as we discover who we really, honestly are.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By Jennifer T
Format:Paperback
I'm a big fan of Mendelson's work in general, and this novel did not disappoint. Although as a youngest sibling I might quibble with her tendency to sympathize with eldest siblings, her depiction of familial relationships and conflicts is unparalleled.
As someone with a female rabbi in her family, I appreciated her humanization of Claudia Rubin, the matriarch and rabbi around whom the other characters (and the action of the novel) revolves. I was particularly fascinated by the idea of someone who can connect with and lead strangers, but fails to connect with and lead her own family. While other reviewers here might feel that rabbis must demonstrate spiritual leadership, in the familial realm that's often not the case. Rabbis can be people with problems too.
Most importantly, Mendelson's writing is positively propulsive. It's rare to find a literary writer, with such creative and original language and imagery, who can also drive a page-turning plot. I had to force myself to slow down to appreciate the writing, because I kept speeding up to find out what was going to happen!
As someone with a female rabbi in her family, I appreciated her humanization of Claudia Rubin, the matriarch and rabbi around whom the other characters (and the action of the novel) revolves. I was particularly fascinated by the idea of someone who can connect with and lead strangers, but fails to connect with and lead her own family. While other reviewers here might feel that rabbis must demonstrate spiritual leadership, in the familial realm that's often not the case. Rabbis can be people with problems too.
Most importantly, Mendelson's writing is positively propulsive. It's rare to find a literary writer, with such creative and original language and imagery, who can also drive a page-turning plot. I had to force myself to slow down to appreciate the writing, because I kept speeding up to find out what was going to happen!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By H. Eaton
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I really love it when I hit upon a book that is light and perfect for a holiday read, without being vacuous or cliched. This is one such book.
The story is set in London and centres around a female Rabbi - Claudia Rubin - who is very well respected and loved in the community. She is there for her congregation when they need her, thoughtful to a fault and always dresses and behaves impeccably. Her family life seems perfect to the outside world and the Rubins are envied far and wide.
But, you never know what's going on behind closed doors and when her son decides to leave his fiance - at the altar - to elope with the wife of a fellow Rabbi, it becomes clear that all is not well with Claudia Rubin's family.
From this point the illusion of happiness that has cloaked her family begins to untangle. The story is amusing and light - it feels like a good quality soap opera with substance! You can't wish for more than that for a holiday read surely?!
Incidentally, as someone who knows little about the Jewish faith, I greatly enjoyed reading about Jewish celebrations and the amazing preparations that go into them ... this was all weaved seamlessly into the story.
Give yourself a treat and read this book!
The story is set in London and centres around a female Rabbi - Claudia Rubin - who is very well respected and loved in the community. She is there for her congregation when they need her, thoughtful to a fault and always dresses and behaves impeccably. Her family life seems perfect to the outside world and the Rubins are envied far and wide.
But, you never know what's going on behind closed doors and when her son decides to leave his fiance - at the altar - to elope with the wife of a fellow Rabbi, it becomes clear that all is not well with Claudia Rubin's family.
From this point the illusion of happiness that has cloaked her family begins to untangle. The story is amusing and light - it feels like a good quality soap opera with substance! You can't wish for more than that for a holiday read surely?!
Incidentally, as someone who knows little about the Jewish faith, I greatly enjoyed reading about Jewish celebrations and the amazing preparations that go into them ... this was all weaved seamlessly into the story.
Give yourself a treat and read this book!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews
3.3 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
very confusing
My copy was creased.. nicely packed though.
not worth the postage charged. I will not
pass it to my own group of readers
not worth the postage charged. I will not
pass it to my own group of readers
Published 3 months ago by teddybear
5.0 out of 5 stars
A really hard book to rate...
British author Charlotte Menedelson gives us the Rubin family of Hampstead in her novel, "When We Were Bad". Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jill Meyer
4.0 out of 5 stars
Family Passions
A sometimes funny, sometimes rather bleak novel about a North-London Jewish family. Rabbi Claudia Rubin has two 'good' children (Leo and Frances) and two 'bad, rebellious' ones... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kate Hopkins
4.0 out of 5 stars
When We Were Bad - the story of a family disintegrating
The final paragraph of When We Were Bad by Charlotte Mendelson finds Claudia Rubin, main protagonist and rabbi, writer, mother extraordinaire sitting down to write her family the... Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2010 by Copycreate
5.0 out of 5 stars
Family drama
Great fun, well written. I really felt I was in the heart of this family, getting jostled about a bit at times and feeling part of their pain, but enjoying their company all the... Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2010 by Bookworm
5.0 out of 5 stars
A GOOD READ
Heard about 'When we were Bad' on a BBC book review on Radio 4 and bought it through Amazon without a problem. So ...............
HEARD IT ..... BOUGHT IT ...... Read more
HEARD IT ..... BOUGHT IT ...... Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2010 by Jean
3.0 out of 5 stars
When We Were Bad
This is quite an amusing book and I enjoyed it as a light read. However, the characters did not seem paricularly well drawn or believable. Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2009 by Jill Rosenheim
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not that bad, actually pretty good
For once a book that almost lives up to the hype. 'A dazzling portrait of a family in crisis' says the Guardian, and that's what it is. Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2009 by Phil O'Sofa
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Selfish Family Drama, But A Good One
`When We Were Bad' is primarily a tale of a near perfect family as it falls apart all around a wedding. Read more
Published on 29 Jan 2009 by Simon Savidge Reads
1.0 out of 5 stars
Self-obsessed
Selfish and unpleasant family members spend their time obsessing and whining about being Jewish and complaining about how the world owes them a living and isn't delivering. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2008 by P. Guyatt
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
