Taffy Brodesser-Akner's second novel opens in 1980 with the kidnapping of Carl Fletcher, a wealthy Long Island businessman, taken at gunpoint from his own driveway and held for ransom -- and then jumps forward decades to track what that trauma actually did to his three adult children, none of whom turned out remotely okay. Loosely inspired by a real 1974 kidnapping the author's family knew personally, the novel landed on best-of-year lists from The New York Times, The New Yorker, and TIME, and earned a starred Kirkus review, while also drawing real, documented pushback from critics who felt its momentum sagged in the middle. This review covers what critics actually said, the real reader numbers, and where that pacing criticism holds up.
What Long Island Compromise Actually Is
The novel opens with Carl Fletcher, heir to a Long Island styrofoam manufacturing fortune, kidnapped from his driveway in 1980 and held in a closet for days before his family pays the ransom and gets him back. From there, the book jumps forward to follow his three adult children -- Nathan, Beamer, and Jenny -- as each of them, in very different ways, turns out to be shaped less by their family's wealth than by the trauma of that one event decades earlier: one drowns in anxiety, one spirals through Hollywood excess and addiction, one tries to reject the family money altogether and can't quite manage it. Brodesser-Akner uses the kidnapping less as a plot engine than as a kind of originating wound, tracing how money that was supposed to buy the Fletchers safety instead left them each, in their own way, permanently unsettled.
The book is structured almost like three linked character studies bookended by the kidnapping at the start and a family reckoning near the end, giving it more the shape of an ensemble family saga than a thriller, despite the crime that opens it.
About Taffy Brodesser-Akner and Why She Wrote This
Brodesser-Akner is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and the New York Times bestselling author of Fleishman Is in Trouble, her 2019 debut novel, which she also adapted into an Emmy-nominated limited series for FX. Long Island Compromise, published in 2024, is her second novel. In interviews, including with NPR, she's said the book grew directly out of a real crime her family knew about firsthand: her father's friend Jack Teich was kidnapped from his driveway in 1974, held in a closet for about a week, and released after his family paid a then-record ransom of roughly $750,000. Brodesser-Akner herself grew up partly on Long Island -- her parents moved there when she was a baby, and even after they split, her father stayed and picked her and her siblings up most weekends -- and she's described being fascinated by the place as it evolved over the decades. She's said the novel grew out of one central question she wanted to ask: who ends up better off, people born into money who never had to worry about survival, or people who had to become survivors on their own -- and whether having money can end up dooming a family in its own way.
How It Compares to Fleishman Is in Trouble
Fleishman Is in Trouble, Brodesser-Akner's debut, is a tighter, more contained story centered on one recently divorced man's unraveling in Manhattan. Long Island Compromise widens that lens considerably -- three adult siblings, a multi-decade timeline, and a real historical crime as its inciting event -- trading Fleishman's narrower focus for a more sprawling, generational family portrait. Reviewers who found Fleishman's satire tighter and more controlled are part of where the pacing criticism below comes from; the larger canvas here gives Brodesser-Akner more to say about wealth and trauma, but also more places for the momentum to slacken.
What Critics Actually Said
Rather than inventing a verdict, here's what was actually published about it:
“A great American Jewish novel whose brew of hilarity, heartbreak, and smarts recalls the best of Philip Roth. A triumph.”— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Long Island Compromise,” Taffy Brodesser-Akner's sophomore novel, “starts strong but loses steam.”— The Washington Post
That mixed-to-strong critical picture came with real, documented recognition: the novel was named one of TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of 2024, and a best book of the year by The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, Oprah Daily, The Washington Post, NPR, Vogue, and Kirkus Reviews, among others -- an unusually wide sweep of best-of-year lists for a single novel.
And the aggregate reader picture, for what it's worth:
Where Real Reviews Pushed Back
The most consistent, specific complaint across independent reviews is that the novel's momentum sags somewhere in the middle. The Washington Post's own assessment put it plainly: it starts strong but loses steam. Other reviewers describe the book as densely written at times, with a pace that could have moved faster, and note that some of the comedy -- while frequent -- can feel labored, with scenes that don't fully land despite the visible effort behind them. A related complaint concerns the Fletcher siblings themselves: readers have described all three adult children as fairly unlikable, scarred and difficult people to spend an entire novel with, which won't work for every reader. Other critics pushed back hard against this read, arguing the book is actually an improvement on Brodesser-Akner's debut and stays sprawling yet nimble even at length. This is a real, split reaction among engaged critics and readers, not a dismissal of the book overall.
On the Real 1974 Kidnapping Behind the Novel
Brodesser-Akner has been specific and on the record about the real event that seeded the novel: the 1974 kidnapping of Jack Teich, a friend of her father's, who was abducted from his driveway, held in a closet for roughly a week, and released after his family paid what was, at the time, a record ransom of about $750,000. The fictional Fletcher family and everything that happens to Carl's children are invented, but the shape of the originating crime -- a wealthy man taken from his own driveway, held for days, ransomed back -- is drawn directly from a real case Brodesser-Akner grew up hearing about. That real-world anchor is part of what critics have pointed to as giving the novel's opening chapters their specific, unsettling texture, before the story shifts into the more fictional, decades-long fallout for the next generation.
On Wealth, Survival, and the Book's Central Question
Brodesser-Akner has said directly that the novel is built around one question: who ends up better off, people who never had to worry about money, or people who had to learn to survive without it -- and whether inherited wealth can, in its own way, be its own kind of damage. Each of the three Fletcher siblings answers that question differently and badly: one is paralyzed by anxiety despite total financial security, one burns through money and relationships in equal measure, and one tries to reject the family fortune outright and can't fully escape it. Critics have highlighted this as the novel's sharpest material -- less a book about a kidnapping than a book about what money can and can't protect a family from, using the kidnapping as the wound that exposes it.
Key Takeaways
- The novel's opening kidnapping is loosely based on the real 1974 abduction of Jack Teich, a friend of Brodesser-Akner's father
- It was named one of TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 and a best book of the year by numerous major outlets, with a starred Kirkus review
- The most consistent critical and reader criticism is that the novel starts strong but loses momentum, with comedy that can feel labored in stretches
- All three adult Fletcher siblings are described by readers as genuinely unlikable, which some found compelling and others found exhausting
- The book's central question -- whether inherited wealth is its own kind of damage -- is stated directly by the author and drives all three siblings' arcs
Who This Book Is Actually For
Readers who want a sprawling, satirical family saga about what money does to people over generations -- particularly anyone drawn to dark comedy, real-crime-inspired fiction, and stories about wealthy families whose money solves almost nothing that actually matters.
Who Should Read Something Else Instead
If you need a tighter, faster-moving novel or find sprawling ensemble casts exhausting, the documented pacing criticism above is worth weighing -- Brodesser-Akner's own Fleishman Is in Trouble offers a more focused, single-protagonist alternative from the same author.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Named one of TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 and a best book of the year by a wide range of major outlets
- Starred Kirkus review comparing it to the best of Philip Roth
- Genuinely rooted in a real, documented 1974 kidnapping case
- Sharp, specific satire about inherited wealth and what it can't actually protect a family from
- Ambitious multi-decade, multi-sibling structure that gives each Fletcher child a distinct arc
Cons:
- The Washington Post and multiple readers note the novel starts strong but loses steam partway through
- Some of the comedy reads as labored rather than landing cleanly
- All three central siblings are widely described as unlikable, which won't suit every reader
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Long Island Compromise based on a real kidnapping?
Yes, loosely. Brodesser-Akner has said the novel was inspired by the real 1974 kidnapping of Jack Teich, a friend of her father's, who was held for about a week and released after his family paid a then-record $750,000 ransom. The novel's opening kidnapping of businessman Carl Fletcher echoes that real case, though the Fletcher family and everything that follows is fictional.
What's the actual Goodreads rating?
Around 3.75 out of 5 from more than 47,000 ratings as of this writing, combined across editions -- a solid but not exceptional rating that reflects the genuinely mixed critical reception described below.
Did this book win any major awards or recognition?
It was named one of TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 and a best book of the year by numerous outlets including The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post, and received a starred Kirkus review. It wasn't a major literary-prize finalist, but that spread of best-of-year recognition is real and documented.
Is it true the book loses momentum partway through?
This is a real, recurring criticism. Some reviewers, including The Washington Post, noted the novel starts strong but loses steam, and several readers describe the pace slowing and the comedy feeling labored in stretches, even as other critics maintained it stays sprawling yet nimble throughout.
Sources & Further Reading
- Goodreads — Long Island Compromise (aggregate rating, reader reviews)
- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
- The Washington Post
- The New York Times Book Review — review by Sloane Crosley
- TIME — 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- NPR — Taffy Brodesser-Akner explores wealth and family trauma in Long Island Compromise
- PositiveLifes.com — free inspirational and life-changing PDF books
Final Verdict
Long Island Compromise backs up its wide best-of-year recognition with real critical weight -- a starred Kirkus review, a spot on TIME's must-read list, and best-of-year nods from The New York Times, The New Yorker, and more. The pacing criticism from The Washington Post and readers alike is legitimate and worth knowing before you start: this is a novel that runs hottest in its opening chapters and asks for patience through its middle stretch. But the question at its center -- what inherited wealth actually costs a family -- is sharp enough, and the real 1974 case behind it specific enough, that most readers who stick with it come away thinking it was worth the ride.
Buy Day rating: 8.0/10