Title: Family Album
Author: Penelope Lively
Pub. Date: October 29, 2009
Viking
All Alison ever wanted was a blissful childhood for her six children, with summers at the beach and birthday parties on the lawn at their family home. Together with Ingrid, the family au pair, she has worked hard to create a real "old-fashioned family life." But beneath its postcard sheen, the picture is clouded by a distant father, Alison's inexplicable emotional outbursts, and long-repressed secrets that no one dares mention. For years, Alison's adult children have protected her illusion of domestic perfection-but as each child confronts the effects of past choices on their current adult lives, it becomes evident that each must face the truth.
Penelope Lively's novels of history, memory, and character have earned her a loyal readership. Like Ian McEwan's Atonement, this novel is a measured, thoughtful look at how events of the past, both small and large, seen and unseen, deeply inform character and the present. Quietly provocative and disturbing, Family Album is a highly nuanced work that showcases a master of her craft.
Did you find anything interesting for your list (and mine :) ???
I found "Immortal" by Gillian Shields over at Melody's Reading Corner!
ReplyDeleteFab find. I really like the sound of this.I wonder what it would be like to have six kids.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds so good and the cover's great too.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover--sounds pretty intense, too. Thanks so much for following on my blog. Now I have two--very exciting :)
ReplyDeleteI like the premise and cover!
ReplyDeleteFriday Find: Magdalene and the Mermaids
You had me till you said, "Like Ian McEwan's Atonement..." I hated that book! :--)
ReplyDeleteI got to read part of this at work a few weeks back, and the writing was really quite wonderful AND the story was very engaging. I think this will be a sure bet when it's actually released. Can you really go wrong with Penelope Lively?
ReplyDeleteI didn't like Atonement either, but I like books about secrets, so this might be one that I'd like.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover and the synopsis of this one!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds very interesting!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a book I'd really enjoy. Having recently read my first Penelope Lively (The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, one of her children's books), I'm definitely in the mood for more.
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of this. It sounds so magical and fun. Adding it to my list for sure.
ReplyDeleteI just finished this one and loved it. I agree with Steph - can't go wrong with Lively!
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