Not Our Kind: A Novel Book Review

Change sometimes comes from someone who we least expect.

Kitty Zeldis’s new novel, Not Our Kind: A Novel, was published this year. Eleanor Moskowitz and Patricia Bellamy both live in New York City just after the end of World War II, but their worlds are vastly different. Eleanor is a first generation American, the daughter of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. In spite of the antisemitism she experienced, Eleanor persevered in receiving a quality education and entering the workforce. Patricia Bellamy is an upper middle class WASP whose daughter is recovering from Polio and desperately needs a private tutor to ensure that her child is educated.

Fate bring them together during a minor car accident. Eleanor needs a job and Patricia needs to hire a new tutor for her daughter ASAP. Though Eleanor gets along well with Patricia as her employer and Margeaux as her student, not everything is peachy keen. Eleanor must hide her identity via an alternative surname so she can go to work. Then there is Patricia’s husband, Wynn, who may be suspicious of Eleanor because of her faith. On top of all that, there is romance between Eleanor and Patricia’s brother, Tom.

This powder keg of emotion and drama is set off by one night at the Bellamy’s summer-house in Connecticut. The explosion that occurs that night will force both women to make difficult decisions that will impact their lives for years to come.

I truly loved this book. Not only was I immediately sucked into this world, but I understood how both Eleanor and Patricia saw the world. The details were fantastic. The ending was enough to tie the narrative threats together while not not being predictable.

I absolutely recommend it. It is a must read.

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