Synopses & Reviews
From the celebrated author of
Marrying the Mistress and
The Rector's Wife, a keenly observed and elegant new novel about the families we're born into, and the ones we create.
We all need to know where we come from, where we belong. But for David and Natalie, this need to know is even more urgent, since they are adopted. Brought up by the same parents, but born to two different mothers, they have grown up as brother and sister, and share a fierce loyalty.
Their decision, in their late thirties, to embark upon the journey to find their birth mothers is no straightforward matter. It affects, acutely and often painfully, their spouses and children, the people they work with, and, most poignantly, the two women who gave them up for adoption all those years ago, and who have since made other lives, even borne other children.
Exploring her subject with inimitable imagination and humanity, Joanna Trollope once again works her magic. In this rich narrative, at once gritty and graceful, she exposes the extraordinary challenges that arise at the heart of ordinary lives.
Review
"[A] bracing read, with just enough consolations to blunt some of the harsher realities of the story....Yet another winner from the author of, among many others, Marrying the Mistress." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"One of Trollope's strengths as a novelist is her empathy for her flawed characters and her recognition that conventional happy endings are not true to life....[T]he novel reaffirms the eternal truth that no one lives in a vacuum." Publishers Weekly
Review
"With well-placed strokes, [Trollope] brings to life all of her characters....She's especially accomplished in her portrayals of children by turns humorous, frustrating or heartbreaking, but never precious." Kate Lehrer, The Washington Post Book World
Review
"Trollope reveals the emotions of a large cast of characters with great skill, showing that change is hard and growth is painful. A keenly perceptive illumination of the human condition." Michele Leber, Booklist
Review
"Trollope aims for the heart, and she hits it." The New Yorker
Review
"Trollope is at her best analyzing the complex strands of DNA that bind families and sometimes threaten to strangle them." People
Review
"[Trollope's] characters compel the reader to care about their relationships....The author is a master storyteller, a credit indeed to her famous literary ancestor, Anthony Trollope. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Synopsis
Brought up by the same parents, but born to two different mothers, Nathalie and David have grown up as brother and sister, and share a fierce loyalty. Their decision as adults to try to find their birth mothers is no straightforward matter. It affects, acutely and often painfully, their spouses and children, the people they work with, and, most poignantly, the two women who gave them up for adoption all those years ago. Exploring her subject with inimitable imagination and humanity, the celebrated author of Marrying the Mistress and The Rector's Wife once again works her magic.
About the Author
Joanna Trollope, the nationally bestselling author of sixteen other books, lives in Gloucestershire, England.