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The Altruists
The Altruists: A Novel | Andrew Ridker
12 posts | 13 read | 32 to read
"Super brilliant, super funny." --Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story and Lake Success "A truly remarkable debut." --Nathan Hill, author of The Nix Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2019 by The Millions and PureWow A vibrant and perceptive novel about a father's plot to win back his children's inheritance Arthur Alter is in trouble. A middling professor at a Midwestern college, he can't afford his mortgage, he's exasperated his much-younger girlfriend, and his kids won't speak to him. And then there's the money--the small fortune his late wife Francine kept secret, which she bequeathed directly to his children. Those children are Ethan, an anxious recluse living off his mother's money on a choice plot of Brooklyn real estate; and Maggie, a would-be do-gooder trying to fashion herself a noble life of self-imposed poverty. On the verge of losing the family home, Arthur invites his children back to St. Louis under the guise of a reconciliation. But in doing so, he unwittingly unleashes a Pandora's box of age-old resentments and long-buried memories--memories that orbit Francine, the matriarch whose life may hold the key to keeping them together. Spanning New York, Paris, Boston, St. Louis, and a small desert outpost in Zimbabwe, The Altruists is a darkly funny (and ultimately tender) family saga in the tradition of Jonathan Franzen and Jeffrey Eugenides, with shades of Philip Roth and Zadie Smith. It's a novel about money, privilege, politics, campus culture, dating, talk therapy, rural sanitation, infidelity, kink, the American beer industry, and what it means to be a "good person."
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review
Bevita
The Altruists: A Novel | Andrew Ridker
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Mehso-so

Charming, sort-of-depressing but also funny story of a family in St Louis, revolving around the fictional Danforth University (aka Wash U) and the dad trying to get his adult kids to bail him out of his mortgage with the inheritance left by their mother. Pretty good.

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BarbaraBB
The Altruists: A Novel | Andrew Ridker
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#BookReport 50/20

Just two books this week. Altruists was okay (nothing special), Still Missing is an a-typical #Persephone but I enjoyed reading it.
I‘m pretty sure there will be more books to report next week since I am free now until January!

Megabooks Awesome!! Enjoy your break! 🎄 4y
Cinfhen Enjoy you‘re much needed and earned Holiday break 4y
Reviewsbylola Definitely a-typical. I‘m actually surprised they published it, but I enjoyed it. Have a great break! 4y
See All 6 Comments
BarbaraBB @Megabooks @Cinfhen @Reviewsbylola Thanks my friends, I will! With books and booze who needs a life?! 😉😘 4y
Cinfhen Ha, books and booze ~ perfect 👌🏽 4y
TrishB Enjoy ♥️ 4y
56 likes6 comments
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BarbaraBB
The Altruists: A Novel | Andrew Ridker
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Mehso-so

Its cover and the reviews were so attempting yet the book couldn‘t really hold my attention. It felt like a story I read many times before. A bit of a dysfunctional family, some midlife crisis, some bullying at school... but maybe I just didn‘t pay enough attention and did I miss out on the bigger picture. I‘m just glad it‘s done. #bookspin

HeathHof Bummer, but that cover! 🤩 4y
Suet624 At least it‘s off your shelf now. 😀 4y
TheAromaofBooks Great review!! 4y
54 likes3 comments
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JennyM
The Altruists: A Novel | Andrew Ridker
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Pickpick

I thought this was a great read. Following the Alter family - Arthur a college professor, Francine a therapist, Ethan a socially anxious recluse, and Maggie a young 20-something struggling with identity - we get into the messy side of family life. It‘s beautifully written and Ridker does a great job of depicting some pretty unlikable characters. Thoroughly enjoyed.

55 likes1 stack add
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JennyM
Altruists | Andrew Ridker
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I‘ve been curious about this one for a while. I‘m hoping it‘s good.

TrishB Enjoy 👍🏻 5y
JennyM @TrishB thanks, Trish. Hope you are well 😘 5y
TrishB Doing ok considering! Hope you and the family doing ok 😘 5y
48 likes3 comments
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LiteraryinPA
The Altruists: A Novel | Andrew Ridker
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Mehso-so

Well, this is one I‘m glad I borrowed from the library rather than buying. It was well written and the author, a 28-year-old, should be really proud of this debut novel. Still, I didn‘t enjoy the experience of reading this book. I think it‘s because the characters were pretty unlikeable. But they were developed well.

rretzler 😻 6y
Dragon 😻 6y
116 likes2 comments
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Maude
Altruists | Andrew Ridker
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this, though I usually don't like books with unlikable characters. I think this was just done well, I liked none of the characters but I still wanted to keep reading about them 🤔 Oh, and I won this in a #goodreadsgiveaway 🙂 #popsugar2019 - book with plant on cover.

82 likes1 stack add
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TheLibrarian
Altruists | Andrew Ridker
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#bookmail that I didn‘t pay for is always the best. #arc #goodreadsgiveaway

73 likes1 stack add
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MicheleinPhilly
The Altruists: A Novel | Andrew Ridker
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#MarchWrapUp I‘m counting 12 books read because I‘ll definitely finish The Crossing today. I‘m actually quite surprised that I didn‘t read more while we were on vacation but we were having so much fun. Easy favorite is tagged.

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Awesome reading! 📖💖 6y
Megabooks Great list! 6y
Reviewsbylola I loved Shrill and the Blume. 6y
71 likes3 comments
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MicheleinPhilly
The Altruists: A Novel | Andrew Ridker
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Pickpick

For me a damn near perfect piece of literary fiction. I went into this expecting the snark and utter excess of The Nest (which I also loved) but the “inheritance” is not the star of the show, the perfectly imperfect Alter family is. Family dynamics at its messy, complicated best. Andrew Ridker is a preternatural talent. 5🌟.

AmyG This is my phone book. I read a chunk of it yesterday and yes, it‘s very good. 6y
Reviewsbylola I didn‘t care for The Nest but this sounds good! 6y
81 likes11 stack adds2 comments
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MicheleinPhilly
The Altruists: A Novel | Andrew Ridker
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Finally made it to 🐪 day. I am absolutely LOVING this.

ScientistSam I love that cover! 6y
70 likes1 stack add1 comment
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MicheleinPhilly
The Altruists: A Novel | Andrew Ridker
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Had to go clothes shopping which to me is like going to have your wisdom teeth removed. So I rewarded myself for not throwing a tantrum. #bookhaul

saresmoore Good decisions. Sorry about the clothes shopping. 6y
Tamra I empathize. Yay reward! 6y
LauraBeth You deserve a couple of more books for that! 6y
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MicheleinPhilly @LauraBeth I had a gift card and promised J I would only take 10 minutes. (She timed me and I was in and out in 6.) 6y
LauraBeth 🤣🤣 6y
Megabooks Me too!! Hate that. Great haul! 6y
71 likes6 comments