Love and Other Impossible Pursuits
Ayelet Waldman
Is Emilia the wicked stepmother incarnate?
Passionately in love with her husband, Emilia has a secret, guilty loathing for her precocious little stepson, William - a forty-year-old in a five-year-old's body, whom she picks up from nursery every Wednesday afternoon. He is lactose intolerant, she feeds him dairy products; he mustn't get cold, she pushes him - accidentally - into the pond in Central Park. How can she forgive William for living, when her own cherished child has gone?
'Moving and darkly funny, romantic, shocking, painful page-turner...says something new and interesting about women, families and love' New York Times
'One moment I was laughing out loud..the next I had tears pouring down...whether you're a parent or not, you can't fail to be moved' Daily Express
Product Details
About Ayelet Waldman
Reviews for Love and Other Impossible Pursuits
Bella Pollen, author of Hunting Unicorns 'I felt utterly wrung out after I'd read it. Such powerful, honest writing ...All through the story Ayelet Waldman maintains the balance between candidly demonstrating all her heroine's flaws and yet never once losing our sympathy...Fantastic'
Kate Long, author of The Bad Mother's Handbook Waldman hooks us from page one ... Tells it with a wittiness and pace which never slacken
Independent on Sunday
What is excellent about this book is its realism, crisp observations, and the easy identification it successfully invites
Guardian
'This book deals with a painful theme in the funniest, most touching and intelligent way. It charts the excruciatingly recognisable traits of mothering brilliantly. I read it in one sitting. I was filled with envy and awe
Arabella Weir, author of Does My Bum Look Big in This? . . . just plain clever: a sharply observed comedy of manners . . . Rising star Ayelet Waldman tells a strong human story with brio.
Sally Cousins
Sunday Telegraph
Very moving
Margaret Forster 'Sharp, painfully honest, and as funny as it is heartbreaking. I literally couldn't put it down'
Shane Watson, author of Other People’s Marriages Utterly brilliant.
OK!
In this interesting inversion of the wicked stepmother story the reader's sympathy is instantly engaged . . . Considerablr darker than its racy, pacy style suggests.
The Times