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Critical Praise

"TINDERBOX is the story of a family undergoing seismic changes brought on by a stranger who unwittingly forces her hosts to face themselves. A masterly and dramatic group portrait, drawn with intelligence, precision, and deep feeling."
    — Daniel Menaker, author of THE TREATMENT

"A fiery, tender novel about the smoldering secrets that can destroy a family. Lisa Gornick is a psychoanalyst as well as a novelist, and the training serves her well. She exposes her characters with a skilled therapist’s blend of gentility and intensity. She knows just when to hang back --- and when to light the match."
    — Lisa Zeidner, author of LOVE BOMB and LAYOVER

"I was gripped from the first line of Lisa Gornick’s ingenious novel to the last. Using a polished prose to scratch hard and deep through the surface of a pristine upper-middle-class Upper West Side family’s life, Gornick’s incisive narrative explores the creepy underbelly of privilege and self-satisfaction."
    — Jenny McPhee, author of A MAN OF NO MOON

"I loved this novel --- it is deeply intelligent and shot through with suspense. The light that it shines on family life --- from lethal traumas to daily love to misguided intentions --- has a rare sort of rightness. An extraordinary book, written for adults."
    — Joan Silber, author of FOOLS and National Book Award finalist for IDEAS OF HEAVEN

"What a smart, compassionate novel Lisa Gornick has written! In the first line of TINDERBOX, Myra says yes when she should say no, allowing her maternal instincts to trump her wisdom as a therapist. That tension --- the tug of war between the advice we give others and the life we actually live --- pulls the reader through this wonderful book of family turmoil. Getting to know these characters truly, madly, deeply is as gut-wrenching and joyful as life itself."
    — Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of MAN ALIVE!

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"TINDERBOX is the story of a family undergoing seismic changes brought on by a stranger who unwittingly forces her hosts to face themselves. A masterly and dramatic group portrait, drawn with intelligence, precision, and deep feeling."

    — Daniel Menaker, author of THE TREATMENT

 

"A fiery, tender novel about the smoldering secrets that can destroy a family. Lisa Gornick is a psychoanalyst as well as a novelist, and the training serves her well. She exposes her characters with a skilled therapist’s blend of gentility and intensity. She knows just when to hang back—and when to light the match."

    — Lisa Zeidner, author of LOVE BOMB and LAYOVER

 

"I was gripped from the first line of Lisa Gornick’s ingenious novel to the last. Using a polished prose to scratch hard and deep through the surface of a pristine upper-middle-class Upper West Side family’s life, Gornick’s incisive narrative explores the creepy underbelly of privilege and self-satisfaction."

    — Jenny McPhee, author of A MAN OF NO MOON

 

"I loved this novel—it is deeply intelligent and shot through with suspense. The light that it shines on family life—from lethal traumas to daily love to misguided intentions—has a rare sort of rightness. An extraordinary book, written for adults."

    — Joan Silber, author of FOOLS  and National Book Award finalist for IDEAS OF HEAVEN

 

"What a smart, compassionate novel Lisa Gornick has written! In the first line of TINDERBOX, Myra says yes when she should say no, allowing her maternal instincts to trump her wisdom as a therapist. That tension—the tug of war between the advice we give others and the life we actually live—pulls the reader through this wonderful book of family turmoil. Getting to know these characters truly, madly, deeply is as gut-wrenching and joyful as life itself."

   — Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of MAN ALIVE!

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