"Throughout the novel, Poliner shows her mastery of language and her background in poetry through beautiful imagery. She moves seamlessly between Amsterdam, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut, allowing readers to immerse themselves in each setting and time period. Ultimately, in Spinning at the Edges , Poliner has created a powerful study of the strength and fragility that comes with every human connection, as well as the effect of intergenerational trauma." -- The Jewish Book Council "Spinning at the Edges explores both the inner fragility of individuals and the outer fragility of the systems that shape their lives. It is a novel about the persistence of trauma and the illusion of control, rendered with emotional precision and restraint. Poliner moves seamlessly through multiple perspectives and time periods, sustaining a quiet intensity throughout.
The result is a beautifully written, deeply observed novel and a sure-footed follow-up to her last." -- Lilith "Book after captivating book, Elizabeth Poliner has been building an exceptional body of work full of characters who rise up from her pages and perform exquisite, literary magic. Spinning at the Edges is, simply, a marvel, because Poliner knows a story of lasting quality needs no flashing neon lights but only people who get up from their beds and go on with lives both simple and complex. Poliner does this with uncommon skill whether her people are fleeing World War II Amsterdam or skating in the dark on a Connecticut lake or walking the streets of Washington, D.C." - Edward P. Jones, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Known World "Elizabeth Poliner's Spinning at the Edges cracks the surface of the present to expose the underlying turbulence of the silenced past. In pages resonant with the heartbreak of history, she lets us glimpse the ways our lives can collide, and the unexpected gifts these collisions can give.
" - Rachel Kadish, author of The Weight of Ink "Spinning at the Edge s is an absorbing story of entangled lives, a meditation on grief and justice, the weight of the past, and the dizzying uncertainties of the future. Without ever losing sight of the humanity of her characters, Elizabeth Poliner depicts, with wisdom and grace, the common challenge we all face to find meaning in a whirling world." -- Alice McDermott, National Book Award winning author of Absolution.