Sometimes I don’t realize just how much I like a book until I’ve finished it. That was the case with The Believers, a novel by Zoe Heller. This was a book I found myself thinking about long after I had put it down. It tells the story of the Litvinoff family. Father Joel is an ultra-liberal defense attorney. Mother Audrey is an English ex-pat who views almost everyone and everything with derision. Rosa, the first-born, is struggling to balance her newly found Jewish faith with her family’s socialist ideals. Karla, the other daughter, likes nothing about herself, inside or out. Finally, there is Lenny, the adopted brother who struggles with drug addiction. When Joel suffers a stroke, a secret is revealed that forces the family to face some hard truths about their own lives and each other. Although none of these characters is particularly likeable, they are all interesting, funny and complex. The Believers is a well-written, thought-provoking read. ~Torrie