Publisher's Synopsis
Family is everything, even when it falls apart.
Discover the brand-new novel from the multi-million-copy bestselling author.
'The perfect holiday read ...There's a new heft and grandeur, not only in the sophisticated characters and the fancy Italian real estate, but in the hidden darkness that can exist in a family ... Rachel Joyce is firing on all cylinders.' THE TIMES
'A beautifully written family drama ... Long after I finished the last page, I found I missed these characters - always the sign of a special book' - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
'A thoroughly engaging examination of familial truths that define and endanger the precious, ever-precarious sibling bond. The beautiful writing, unforgettable characters, and stunning setting make this a must-read.' - Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
'It made me laugh, it made me cry and I couldn't put it down. If you are a fan of Maggie O'Farrell you must read this.' - Louise Minchin, TV presenter and author of Isolation Island
'Rachel Joyce is a masterful storyteller.' - Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
'The renowned artist - the emotionally starved children - what an inspired subject! Joyce writes with her trademark vitality and compassion and there is such colour here. So much at stake. I couldn't put it down.' - Esther Freud, author of Hideous Kinky and Mr Mac and Me
'Lyrical, shrewd and, ultimately, as indecently satisfying as a four course Italian lunch. My life is a little emptier now it's over.' - Patrick Gale, author of A Place Called Winter
There is a heatwave across Europe.
Goose and his three sisters gather at the family's house by Lake Orta in Piedmont, Italy. Their father, a famous artist, has recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his masterpiece. Now he is dead and there is no sign of a painting.
Although the siblings have always been close, as they search for answers over that summer, the things they learn - about themselves, their father and their new stepmother - will drive them apart before they can come to any kind of understanding of what their father's legacy truly is.
Extraordinarily compelling, at heart this is a novel about sibling relationships and those hairline cracks that can appear within a family: what what happens when they splinter, and what it would take to mend them.
'Sparkling and addictive … Rachel Joyce is so incredibly good and wise on families and siblings. I couldn't love it more.' - Harriet Evans, author of The Garden of Lost and Found
'A triumph of insight and empathy!' - Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures
'Joyce is a fearless explorer of emotional landscape.' - Sunday Times
'If only there were more novelists like Rachel Joyce' - Telegraph
