The Floating Feldmans by Elyssa Friedland
CW: Cancer, Off-Page Death, Family Stress, Toxic Relationships, Vomit, Tourism and Cruise Culture, References to Harry Potter, Drinking, Underage Drinking, Drugs, Fire, Injury, Violence, Internalized Fatphobia, Money Problems, Self Esteem Issues
4.5/5
I'll be honest, I only added The Floating Feldmans by Elyssa Friedland to my TBR because it's Jewish and had a fun cover. I only decided to read it because I asked my friend to pick a book at random from my list while I was on hold for Radio Silence by Alice Oseman. This book is a casual read. It's not there to change your life or hook you into a series. There are either 9 or no main characters depending on how you look at it, and it feels a little light for some of the serious matters addressed. It's not my kind of genre, but if I was going to read a casual story, I'm glad it was this one. It's progressive, it's Jewish, and it's a little queer too!
The Floating Feldmans centers around a cruise being taken for Annette Feldman's 70th birthday. Her family is practically estranged and highly dysfunctional, but her husband has cancer and she's not sure how much time they have left to bring the family back together. Everyone has at least one secret and a whole lot of feelings about other members of the family. Will the Feldman descendants and the charming cruise director be able to make this a good vacation for Annette? Should they?
This book is structured in a mostly-linear fashion. The prologue contains a scene most of the way through the story, but it then pops back in time to the start. From there it goes forward as best it can. There are vivid flashbacks throughout, telling stories from anytime in the lives of the characters. As this story is told from 9 different points of view, sometimes the chapters overlap in time. I like a unique story structure that I can still follow and that's absolutely what Friedland has created here. I normally don't do well with a lot of POV characters, but the structure kept me engaged with the characters and helped me to keep track of the plot.
The Jewish representation in The Floating Feldmans is gentle but not barren. It isn't important to the plot, but it's woven into the personality of the book. Yiddish is used, characters have Jewish names, gefilte fish is mentioned a few times, and Jewish holidays/celebrations are brought up. While I don't think anyone was mentioned as keeping kosher, it did initially matter to Annette that her daughter married a Christian man. I would say that this book was written for a Jewish reader, even if it can be enjoyed by those of other religions. It assumes you'll get the cultural references.
When I put The Floating Feldmans on my TBR, I had no idea that there was queer content within! So this is me telling you about it! One of the 9 main characters is the cruise director, Julian. He's worked on the ship for over a decade and loves his job, but he's skittish when it comes to his personal life. His boyfriend wants to get married, but Julian isn't sure that's for him. I wasn't fully rooting for their relationship because of this, but I knew I liked Julian from the start. His character arc was one of my favorites in the novel.
I mentioned previously that The Floating Feldmans isn't a life changing story, but that it is progressive and addresses some serious matters. It's a character driven book that centers around the vacation more than a specific plot. Included and handled well were a shopping addiction, poor communication between husband and wife, cancer, self image issues, college application stress, a problematic secret relationship, and more. You'll find that nothing is idealized, it's all told with realism.
The Floating Feldmans by Elyssa Friedland isn't the right genre for everyone, but if you're looking for a cool-down book or prefer casual reads in general, I highly recommend it. You'll be treated to silly adventures, lots of family drama, and a book that can make you laugh. Are you ready to set sail?
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