Family Album
Penelope Lively
*NOMINATED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD*
Family Album 'a hugely enjoyable read' from Booker Prize winner Penelope Lively
'This novel should delight her regular readers and ensnare new ones' Evening Standard
Allersmead is a big shabby Victorian suburban house. The perfect place to grow up for elegant Sandra, difficult Gina, destructive Paul, considerate Katie, clever Roger and flighty Clare.
But was it?
Now adults, the children return to Allersmead one by one. To their home-making mother and aloof writer father, and a house that for years has played silent witness to a family's secrets.
And one devastating secret of which no one speaks . . .
'One of those ridiculously simple, ridiculously readable novels whose artistry only becomes apparent when you put it down' Sunday Telegraph
'A pleasure to read, hugely enjoyable, consistently absorbing, hilarious' Independent
Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours List, and DBE in 2012. Penelope Lively lives in London.
Product Details
About Penelope Lively
Reviews for Family Album
Guardian
One of those ridiculously simple, ridiculously readable novels whose artistry only becomes apparent when you put it down with a sign of regret, having devoured it in one sitting...Lively still displays an economy and an elegance that put younger writers to shame
Sunday Telegraph
Lively's brilliance is of the creeping kind. There is a sense of formality, which falls away as the novel gains pace and builds towards an unforeseen end. She is particularly good at bending language to make it fit her cool and clear voice...Lively succeeds brilliantly in getting a hold on the climate of family life. Slowly we absorb the details that get lost in the bluster and flurry until we are so drawn in, so tightly contained in the dynamics of this one, that the end, when it comes, is simply devastating
The Times
A pleasure to read, hugely enjoyable, consistently absorbing, hilarious
Independent
An involving emotional drama and an insightful examination of changing family values
Easy Living
The complexities and silences of family life are intelligently and subtly explored...a very engaging novel, continuously interesting and often moving
Scotsman
Gorgeous
David Vann
Guardian Books of the Year
Sympathetic and observant, Lively moves fluidly between present-tense set-piece scenes and silent monologues, placing the novel's revelations where they will be most effective, and allowing implications - about marriage, feminism and personal ambition - to blossom slowly
Sunday Times
Penelope Lively at her best, sharp-eyed but sympathetic, deftly steering the reader from one point of view to another. This novel should delight her regular readers and ensnare new ones
Evening Standard
A very readable, well-paced novel peopled with Lively's customary immaculately observed and impeccably rounded characters
Independent on Sunday
Lively skilfully mingles past and present, as she peels away the layers to uncover a family secret of which no one speaks...Lively's astute skewering of family relations reverberates in the mind long afterwards
Daily Mail
Lively plays her sleight of hand with admirable dexterity. The dialogue is pitch-perfect, the writing crisp and the humour wonderfully dry
Tatler
Gripping. An intelligent look at family relationships and the knock-on effects of past events on the present. It's an absorbing tale of mystery and intrigue that will leave you wondering what lies behind even the nicest façade
Woman & Home
A deeply satisfying, eloquent family-fabric novel
Good Housekeeping