In sharp yet sumptuous prose, Fuller paints a stunning portrait of two middle-aged twins whose carefully cultivated existence on the fringes of society begins to unravel following the death of their mother.
Winner of the Costa Novel Award 2021
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021
What if the life you have always known is taken from you in an instant?
What would you do to get it back?
Twins Jeanie and Julius have always been different from other people. At 51 years old, they still live with their mother, Dot, in rural isolation and poverty. Inside the walls of their old cottage they make music, and in the garden they grow (and sometimes kill) everything they need for sustenance.
But when Dot dies suddenly, threats to their livelihood start raining down. Jeanie and Julius would do anything to preserve their small sanctuary against the perils of the outside world, even as their mother's secrets begin to unravel, putting everything they thought they knew about their lives at stake.
Unsettled Ground is a heart-stopping novel of betrayal and resilience, love and survival. It is a portrait of life on the fringes of society that explores with dazzling emotional power how we can build our lives on broken foundations, and spin light from darkness.
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241457443
Number of pages: 304
Weight: 422 g
Dimensions: 222 x 144 x 29 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'A gorgeously written celebration of the natural world as well as a moving portrait of a family struggling against time. This book is ultimately about redemption-about the unexpected importance of neighbors, lovers, and friends, and the ways in which we can re-envision our lives for the better, even after the unimaginable has occurred' - Lucy Tan
'So sharply, so utterly brilliant that I found myself holding my breath while reading it, dazzled by Fuller's mastery and precision. Not since Flaubert's A Simple Heart have I encountered a narrative that shows, with such clear and patient fury, how breathtaking vulnerability can come from poverty, pride, and helpless family love' - Lauren Groff, author of Fates and Furies
'Claire Fuller strikes the perfect balance between beauty and melancholy, in this relevant and powerful exploration of isolation and life on the fringes of society' - Clare Mackintosh
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“Amazing!”
Unsettled Ground is one of my favourite books this year. I absolutely loved it. The story of 51 year old twins Jeanie and Julius broke my heart. I wanted to look after them and give Jeanie a big hug. Claire Fullers... More
“Review of Unsettled Ground”
There is so much to admire in Claire Fuller's latest novel, it's hard to know where to start. ''Unsettled Ground' is the story of 51 year old twins, Julius and Jeanie, who live an isolated,... More
“A beautiful an disturbing book”
How does a 51 year old cope when they begin to gradually discover that all the truths they had held for a lifetime are not what they seemed? Twins Jeanie and Julius are left to discover the answer to that when their... More
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