A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this brilliant, powerful, and unforgettable new novel by the author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky.
For years Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now grown children. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could … could have imagined. Unfolding over the next twenty-four hours, this searing, fast-paced novel explores the complex ties between mothers and daughters, wives and lovers, the meaning of devotion, and the line between love and hate. It is a challenging, moving, gripping story, written with the fluidity and strength of voice that only Alice Sebold can bring to the page.
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This is one hell of a powerful book! It covers a wide gamut of subjects between mental illness & phobias, ageism and medical ethics. Many of us have been confronted with the illnesses and frailties of our aging parents and it is never an easily solved situation for anyone involved. Parents, adult children, grandchildren and friends alike are …
I loved Lovely Bones; I did not love this book. As expected, the writing is beautiful, with Sebold’s intense, descriptive literary stylings, and characters rich in detail, both physical and emotional. But I put the book down once, then struggled to pick it up again, determined to give the story my attention because the premise was provocative and …
‘When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily.’ So begins this raw and compelling story of the complex ties within family life. Clair Knightly and her daughter Helen, the narrator of the story, are locked in a relationship which has sucked the air out of both of their lives. Helen has spent most of hers trying to win her …