Family Fiction

by Richard Hall

The Shays of New Rochelle, N.Y., would seem to be a ``good'' family. Judd, the father, works in the lucrative family business; Margaret, the mother, is active in the Episcopalian church; Mag and Harris, the kids, do well in school. But their little secret is their original name: Schanberg. What becomes of lives built on such ``family fictions'' is the subject of Hall's unswerving novel about discovering Jewish roots. Starting in the '30s, Margaret, driven by feelings of inferiority, begins...