When Gill and Gabe's elder son drowns overseas, they decide they must hide the truth from their desperately unwell teenaged daughter. But as Gill begins to send letters from her dead son to his sister, the increasingly elaborate lie threatens to prove more dangerous than the truth.
A novel about family, food, grief, and hope, this gripping, lyrical story moves between Tasmania and London, exploring the many ways that a family can break down - and the unexpected ways that it can be put back together.
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 9781911630906
Number of pages: 432
Weight: 605 g
Dimensions: 225 x 145 x 40 mm
Edition: Main
Sometimes, books come along that have such an unassuming elegance about them, and this is one. Told from multiple voices following a family tragedy, the different viewpoints make this such an interesting read. One to savour long after you have turned the last page. - Nina Pottell, Prima
Gill Jordan is at home in Tasmania, writing recipes, because that is what she does. Gabe is in England for the inquest into the death of their son, Dougie, drowned in a flooded cave. Daughter Sylvie is anorexic, fragile, so can't be told, and lies are spinning out of control. Read with a box of Kleenex. - Saga Magazine
What a devastatingly honest - and brilliant - book this is. Its portrayal of grief and the absurdity of death - the bizarre, unfathomable fact that someone just isn't there anymore - are simply incredible. Earth-shatteringly raw and resonant, it's a book that will break your heart and heal it. [...] The story reels and swerves to a truly edge-of-your-seat, hold-your-breath conclusion. While the family's pain and grief are always tangible, the buds of healing are too. What a book. - Love Reading
I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of this book by LoveReading and it’s fair to say that I was a bit dubious about the subject, as it deals with the aftermath of the death of a teenage boy. But once I’d started I... More
When Gill and Gabe's eldest son drowns overseas, they decide they must hide the truth from their desperately unwell teenaged daughter. But as Gill begins to send letters from her dead son to his sister, the... More
"Omelette for the day the police come to your house to tell you that your son is dead. Take six eggs (large; ideally free range). Crack them, one by one, carefully separating the yolks and whites into two large... More
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