Other People’s Houses

Frances is the quintessential suburban mom, driving the carpool to multiple schools and keeping an eye on the families on her block, just to make sure everyone’s doing okay. When she catches her friend Anne having an affair with a younger man, Frances vows to stay out of it and let Anne face the consequences should her husband find out. Steering clear of the marital drama, however, is easier said than done, and Frances becomes uncomfortably entangled. Meanwhile, other neighbors are confronting their own private issues: Iris and Sara are locked in a stalemate over whether to have a second child; Julie has mysteriously moved out of her house, offering no explanation for why she’s left her husband and son; and Frances herself is struggling to maintain her relationship with her surly teenager daughter, Ava.

Though no one really knows exactly what goes on in other people’s houses, everyone on Frances’s block knows just enough to make things complicated–and embarrassing. This is a light, funny read, with spot-on observations about life in the suburban bubble, but Waxman offers many moments of genuine pain as well. Life is funny, sure, but there are deep hurts and lasting scars, too, beneath the laughter.