This book disappointed me as I expected more of a story than an introspective about family dynamics. Much of this tale hinges on whether our hero, Paul, plays well in the U.S. Open. Family members from around the globe descend on New York to watch him play. Does he win? The book ends with him playing his first round, so the reader never finds out.

Each family member has his own story, each of which we learn in depth. This detail went too far for me – I enjoy tennis and anticipated more of a game centered tale than a family centered saga. But even their stories are incomplete and left this reader unsatisfied. The author uses the names of some real players to lend authenticity to the text, but it doesn’t work when you know that Paul is a fictitious character and never played any of them.

I cannot argue that this is a poorly written book, because it does the job of bringing this caring, but disjointed, family to life. But it is very slow moving and I could not make myself read very many pages at one sitting.

Thank you to the LibraryThing Early Reviewers for the complimentary copy I received in a giveaway. Any opinions expressed are my own. ( )

A novel that focuses on character relationships over plot, A Weekend in New York is about the Essinger family as they come together in New York City for their youngest son/brother's tennis tournament. I enjoyed navigating the complex relationships throughout, and trying to better understand the characters and their motivations. The characters were realistic and complex to the point that the reader does not feel they can fully understand any of them by the end. Speaking of the end, the sudden ending left me dissatisfied. It resolved nothing and left me with a lot of questions about what was next for this family. With a more satisfying ending, I would have given it four stars, because I found it otherwise engaging and interesting. ( )

A Weekend in New York by Benjamin Markovits

An upper middle class family gets together in NYC to support Paul who is competing in the USTA Open Tennis Championships. As he contemplates retiring from tennis as he nears the end of his competitive years, aged 33, married with a baby son , Paul and his wife interact with 3 generations of his family.

The Essingers are well educated and employed, consisting of 4 siblings, 2 brothers and 2 sisters. The book is written in a breezy style, easy to read yet also revealing as it captures the rivalries and pecking orders of the family dynamics. Much of what is described and depicted ring true.

Both parents and siblings are drawn with a variety of self-doubts and neurotic characteristics; only the younger generation, 4 grandchildren appear untainted as they either ignore or critique the adults in this family.

An enjoyable read yet in the end of little substance. Reminds me of a TV series or light adult comedy of errors. I do commend Markovitz on his easy writing style and nailing the cultural and concrete landscape of the Upper West Side of Manhattan. ( )

Paul Essinger is a tennis player who almost achieved greatness once upon a time and now continues to play in the lower levels of the professional circuit. He is successful enough to provide a comfortable life in New York City (no easy feat) for his girlfriend. Dana, and her young son.

Paul’s family has come to New York to watch him play in the U.S. Open. This reunion is the subject of the book. This is a book about family and the struggles they face even when they are (mostly) happy.

Paul’s father feels a mixture of pride and disappointment in his son. This is especially poignant on this weekend which will likely be the last of Paul’s professional career.

The story follows the events of this weekend with a focus on the relationships amongst Paul, his parents, and his siblings, as well as with Paula (his girlfriend).

Paul is planning to retire to his home town of Austin, Texas (a plan of which Paula knows nothing). The siblings have the typical resentments that siblings and children of a family have. The novel presents each of them (as it does with all the characters) both as individuals but also (and maybe more importantly) as members of a unit that has a life of its own. The characters all struggle with the balance of how to be themselves both outside and within this loving family.

One thing I missed in this book was a more detailed picture of the New York of the title. One of the reasons I chose this book was that, as a New Yorker, I am always interested in stories that take place here but there was no real sense of the city, which I found disappointing.

The writing itself is excellent, comfortable, easy to read, clear and insightful. The author’s intelligence and compassion for his characters are evident. The book beautifully presents the family drama that is both common to most families and unique to this one. I loved (and identified with) each individual’s struggle to define themselves both within and outside of their family. I identified with their struggles. Even if the details are specific to these characters, the balancing act of individuality and family roles was familiar and one I’m always interested in exploring. By the end, I cared about the members of this family and their futures. It is a satisfying family saga.

My thanks to LibraryThing.com for providing me with a free copy of this book. ( )

The Essinger family has gathered in New York to watch Paul, the tennis pro of the family, compete in the US Open. In A WEEKEND IN NEW YORK, by Benjamin Markovits, this family gathering exposes all of the intricate family relationships of the Essingers; the positive and negative relations and how each person's actions has ripple effects that are felt by the rest of the family.
Markovits creates a family, the Essingers, that are fascinatingly very close and the same time very distant. They have loved and supported each other through the years, financially and emotionally, and yet they don't really listen to or sympathize with each other. This fractured approach to family relations was set in place by the Essinger parents, who from their own unique and rigid upbringing, approached parenting more as a job than a loving, supportive home that encouraged happiness and success in life. Markovits jumps around into each family members over the weekend leading up to Paul's match on Monday. The pacing and emotionally intensity rises and falls and sometimes mundane moments become suddenly intense and vice versa. The book attempts to mirror how family interactions are and how they span from completely trivial to overwhelmingly intense. The story has a constant trajectory toward the tennis match, but really doesn't give much resolution to any of the family members. While that could have been the point of Markovits, it left me unresolved and therefore yearning for a resolution that wasn't there.
Markovits takes care in creating the Essinger family and delightfully delves into each of the psyches, and yet the reader feels there are infinitely more layers within each of these characters. While I feel like the book kind of stumbled to the finish, I really enjoyed getting to know these people and I want to find another Benjamin Markovits book in the future.
I received a copy of this book as part of the Librarything Early Reviewers program. ( )