The Children of the Roses

by Warren Adler

Overview

Warren Adler's The War of the Roses leaped into the public consciousness and has since remained an essential thread in a wider tapestry of divorce iconography.

Now, Adler presents us with the chandelier-shattering legacy of Barbara and Jonathan Rose relived in their children, Josh and Evie, in a hilarious sequel to the original iconic tale about the perils of marriage, divorce, and the destructive power of materialism. Unlike the legendary Roses, Josh's marriage to Victoria should have all the qualities of an everlasting union.

But when an innocent caper involving missing Milky Ways catapults out of control at their son's elite private school, they find themselves entering into a shattering warfare of a different kind.

Armed with the emotional mayhem inherited from their parents, as well as compounded pressures involving a depraved headmaster, clandestine affairs, and Victoria's male-hating mother, The Children of the Roses presents a gripping story of the lengths to which parents will go to protect their children. Little more than a child herself, Josh's ever-sympathetic and over-stuffed sister Evie lavishes her 'food-is-love' obsession on her beloved niece and nephew coping with their own sense of loss. Meanwhile, Michael and Emily, soon-to-be children of divorce, orchestrate their own plan to keep their family together at all costs.

Adler, once again, demonstrates his storytelling mastery by revealing the intricate blending of the past with the present, and how time unravels all seemingly perfect things to be darkly and even comically dysfunctional.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532982040
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	06/21/2016
Pages:	326
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Warren Adler is the author of 17 novels. Two of his works, The War of the Roses and Random Hearts, were made into major motion pictures. He lives in New York.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

Victoria was on the checkout line at Safeway for the mid-week groceries when the cell had vibrated in the pocket of her slacks. It was there mostly for useful family communications and emergency situations.

On the line was Mr. Tatum, headmaster of Michael's school, which had her cell number on file. Her heart jumped to her throat. He was quick to reassure her.

"Michael is fine. Don't be alarmed," he said.

Then why this call, she wanted to ask, but held off.

"It's the business about the candy," Mr. Tatum explained. She sucked in a deep breath and expelled it with a sense of relief. Then disgust set in.

"That again," Victoria sighed. "So it's reached the emergency level, has it?" she said with a touch of sarcasm. As she spoke, she watched the heavyset uniformed female clerk punch in the numbers. "They're three for two twenty," she barked. "Check your ad."

"Damn," the clerk blushed, embarrassed, rereading the list of promotional prices.

"Not you, Mr. Tatum," she said into the phone. "I'm at the Safeway."

"I don't want to complicate your life, Mrs. Rose," Mr. Tatum said unctuously. "But we need you here as soon as possible."

"You can't be serious. Why?"

"We would like Mr. Rose here as well."

"That's impossible. You know he works in Manhattan. You know that, Mr. Tatum. Why the urgency?"

"It's happened again," Mr. Tatum explained.

For a brief moment, a wave of panic washed over her. Was something terrible being hidden? Surely this could not be about candy bars.

"Madeline's parents are not satisfied with Michael's previous denials, Mrs. Rose."

"Are you saying that the girl is making yet another accusation?"

"I'm afraid so."

"And the Crespos are buying it?"

"Completely, Mrs. Rose. We're sort of at an impasse."

"It's no impasse as far as my husband and I are concerned," Victoria said, feeling the heat rise in her body. Frustrated, she watched the clerk scowl at the register as if it were to blame for the error. "I've already explained this. We do not lie in our family."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Rose," Mr. Tatum told her officiously. She sensed that Michael's accusers were witnessing his call. "We need to get to the bottom of this."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow, Mr. Tatum?"

Copyright © 2004 By Warren Adler

Editorial Reviews

Adler returns with a sequel to The War of the Roses (1981), offering another generation of nasty stick figures in foreseeable sentences. It may or may not be a good thing that the action here never gets quite as excruciating as in its predecessor, where divorcing parents battled literally to the death for possession of their stunningly restored house on DC's Embassy Row. Years later, young Josh Rose, son of the deceased Jonathan and Barbara, marries aggressive ex-lawyer Victoria, the toweringly dysfunctional child of a bitter mother who drove her husband into abandoning them and whose attitude toward men is "Never near when you need them, are they?" Josh and Victoria teach offspring Michael and Emily not to lie, but when Michael is accused repeatedly of stealing Milky Ways from hysterical and lisping fellow student Madeline, can they believe his denials? Victoria's ire rises stormlike over the child's private school. Adler sets us up for what bodes to be a Victoria-and-Josh repeat of Jonathan and Barbara's mortal match, but it doesn't work out that way. Josh, creative director at an ad agency, finds himself seduced by Angela Bocci, a brilliant Italian artist with two kids and a husband. He can't bear the strain and breaks up with her after six months, but Angela's thuggish spouse Dominic decides to blackmail him for $500,000. When Victoria hears about this, she takes Dominic to pieces. Meanwhile, Gordon Tatum, head of Michael's school, promises to expel the boy unless Victoria blows him. Josh and Victoria head toward divorce, but the kids will have final say about that. And, of course, Josh must discover Victoria's deed with Tatum. Strangely compelling through the middle pages, butAdler's prose is as threadbare as ever. First printing of 30,000. Agent: Bob Diforio

Kirkus Reviews