Leaving home

by Elizabeth Janeway

Book Overview

Rich in emotional detail, Leaving Home tells the absorbing story of three siblings who must make the transition to independent adult life during the Depression: Nina, just out of Vassar and working in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0007E0DYC
• Release Date: January 1953
• Publisher: Doubleday
• Length: 315 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

New York family life circa 1930's

Leaving Home is divided into three main chapters, one for each sibling in the Bishop family. Unlike some family sagas, the storyline keeps flowing with each section. We don't re-read the same events interpreted in a different way by a new character each time. The book starts with Nina. She is the most unlikeable of the three siblings, and maybe this is why the book was hard to enjoy in those first pages. She is so conceited and confused, and has some sort of arrogant displicence over everybody, to a point where she feels tremendously alone. She has a cold little heart, and I had no sympathy for her at all. Section 2 is devoted to Kermit, the brother. Kermit and Nina have had some kind of unspoken rivalry throughout their childhood. Now that they are grown-up, Kermit almost done with college, it is clear that there are many unresolved issues between them, but Kermit, being smarter and definitively more honest, comes up on top. He learns a lot about life once he leaves home, and develops into a shrewd but compassionate man. Section 3 is for Marion, the youngest sister, not as smart as her older brother and sister, but with far more passion. That is her greatest shortcoming, and she will jump from trouble to trouble without batting an eye. The supporting cast of in-laws, relatives and friends provides a lot of color and interest to the novel. It was also great to read about New York City in pre-WWII years.