The Disharmony of Silence, released March 5, 2020 by Black Rose Writing, authored by Linda Rosen shows how secrets affect families through future generations. She tells the dual stories of Lena and Carolyn through alternating time lines separated by eighty-plus years. The Roth and Pearl families immigrated to New York from the same town in Russia at the turn of the nineteenth century. An argument between the fathers, the contents of which are unknown to either Carolyn or Lena, drives a wedge between the once-close families. Later, Carolyn—a granddaughter—begins genealogical research and discovers a secret that will shatter both families.
Anyone who has buried a loved one then had to deal with the after-effects of the death like selling a house, sorting through memorabilia, etc. will feel for Carolyn as she accomplishes these not-so-simple tasks. Rosen also does a good job walking a line between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jewish observances. Carolyn show growth as a character and comes to understand that she’s not really very different from the lying husband she divorced. She also learns that sometimes doing nothing is the best action and what it means to be family.
I was pleased that the story meets an offshoot of the Bechdel test in that it doesn’t involve violence against women. However, the story is a bit slow-moving in parts, and Lena and Carolyn’s stories occasionally don’t mesh well.
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The Disharmony of Silence is available through:
Amazon | B&N | Black Rose
