{"product_id":"curse-of-the-blumenthals-paperback","title":"Curse of the Blumenthals - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePhyllis Karas\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOver three generations of whispered secrets, crime, and lies in a Jewish-American family.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Journalist Karas blends memoir and true crime in this intriguing family history. Along the way, she nimbly balances the disclosure of scandalous family secrets with a prevailing sense of empathy. It's a bruising portrait of generational trauma.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePublisher's Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The Blumenthals are one of millions of Eastern European Jewish families who immigrated to the United States at the end of the nineteenth century. Settling in Providence, Rhode Island, they grow and prosper. During Prohibition, the Blumenthals become bootleggers--starting their fraught history with alcohol and crime. Once Prohibition is repealed, Barney Blumenthal opens a liquor store in Boston. Life is good--until fate intervenes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In May 1935, a drunk driver takes the lives of six Blumenthals, including three children. Horrific photos run in newspapers across the country. Six months later, Ronnie Blumenthal is born: a phoenix rising from the ashes of devastation, a golden child upon whose blond head the family's hopes and dreams are placed. He grows into a handsome and spoiled teenager, driving a fast convertible and surrounded by beautiful girls. The Blumenthal legacy is resurrected--until one July night in 1954, when he is arrested for murder. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The victim is his mother's seamstress, who was allegedly having an affair with his father. Newspaper and TV coverage is relentless. Ronnie pleads guilty, yet dark questions remain unanswered. Upon Ronnie's release from prison, his drunken behavior causes the family--who faithfully visited him behind bars--to finally wash their hands of him. At the end of his life, not one family member will contribute to his funeral. The once golden child is buried in a pauper's grave, etching the Blumenthal curse in stone. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A decade later, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author Phyllis Karas, a Blumenthal cousin, uses her well-honed instincts as a journalist to peel back layers of long-hidden family secrets. Karas sensitively chronicles the generational trauma affecting Phillip and Rose Blumenthal's six children and their children--the fifteen Blumenthal cousins--who were left to build their lives in the fallout. The Blumenthals' story proves that, by learning from the past with care and love, curses can be broken.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhyllis Karas, the author of a dozen books, taught journalism at Boston University and was a stringer for \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e magazine. She is the co-author, alongside Kevin Weeks, of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller \u003ci\u003eBrutal: The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob\u003c\/i\u003e. She co-authored, with Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos, \u003ci\u003eThe Onassis Women: An Eyewitness Account\u003c\/i\u003e, the subject of a \u003ci\u003eDateline\u003c\/i\u003e NBC special. An award-winning journalist, her work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eMiami Herald\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBoston Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e among others, and she wrote a popular column, \"Wit, Wisdom and Woe,\" for the \u003ci\u003eBoston Herald\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e An alumna of Boston University and George Washington University, Karas and her husband, Jack, a retired physician, are longtime residents of Marblehead, Massachusetts. She has two sons and three grandchildren.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 384\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.11 x 8.2 x 5.44 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 19, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53403650818355,"sku":"9798895654316","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/jiljb-YZ679798895654316.webp?v=1779915250","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/en-ca\/products\/curse-of-the-blumenthals-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}