Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem is an intricate family saga tracing three generations of American radicals. At the heart of this story are the formidable Rose Zimmer, known as the Red Queen of Sunnyside, Queens, and her daughter Miriam, who is desperate to escape her mother's overpowering shadow. Rose's unwavering communist beliefs and harsh judgments shape the lives of everyone around her, including a cast of varied characters bound by ideological pursuits, love, and disillusionment. As Miriam tries to forge her own path during the turbulent times of the Sixties in Greenwich Village, she and others encapsulate the complex interplay between the political currents of the 20th century and their personal lives. Lethem's novel delves into the essence of activism and radicalism in America, revealing how deeply the political is interwoven with the personal in a narrative that spans from the 1930s communism to the Occupy movement.