Review: NUTCRACKER by Shana Alexander

Review: NUTCRACKER by Shana Alexander Long-term journalist Shana Alexander's concise reportage illumines this true-crime narrative, which leaves readers thinking "thank goodness that's not MY family!" The portrait Ms. Alexander paints reveals a intergenerational extended family whose permanent dysfunctions make one's skin crawl. Decades ago, a women's magazine featured a monthly column, "Can this Marriage Be Saved?" In this case, "Can this Family Be Saved?" would be the apropos question, and the answer is "Impossible!" NUTCRACKER is a casebook for abnormal psychology; a treatise on how NOT to raise offspring.