Summary: Edith is a widowed landlady who rents apartments in her Brooklyn brownstone to an unlikely collection of humans, all deeply in need of shelter. Crippled in various ways--in spirit, in mind, in body, in heart--the renters struggle to navigate daily existence, and soon come to realize that Edith's deteriorating mind, and the menacing presence of her estranged, unscrupulous son, Owen, is the greatest challenge they must confront together.Booklist Reviews
In a funky Brooklyn apartment building, where each door is painted a different color, widowed landlord Edith mourns her long-dead husband, Declan; misses her long-gone daughter, Jenny; and cowers in fear during rare visits from her son, Owen. The misfit tenants living around her are aware of all this, as well as Edith's deteriorating mental and physical condition. Ex-comic Edward teams with erstwhile lodger Claudia, whose mentally challenged brother, Paulie, worships them both. Upstairs, recovering stroke victim Thomas gives up his art to draw the reclusive Adeline out of her agoraphobic shell, across the hall, and into his bed. When the tenants receive an eviction notice from Owen, each tries, in his or her own way, to save their home, Edith, and ultimately themselves. Alcott reveals stories of each character through staccato pacing that builds from whimsy to woe to redemption through the course of a delectably subtle yet sublimely fierce study of many forms of bravery and loyalty. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
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