by Paul Murray
First published 2024
Dickie Barnes abandons his failing car dealership to construct an apocalypse bunker in the woods with a mysterious stranger. His wife Imelda sells her clothes and jewelry online while fending off advances from the successful Big Mike. Their brilliant daughter Cass trades her study desk for bar counters just before her university entrance exams. Twelve-year-old PJ fears his parents will ship him to boarding school, so he follows advice from an online gaming friend. The Barnes family traces their troubles through generations of misfortune. They wonder if one pivotal moment sealed their fate: the day Dickie hired the enigmatic foreigner, a tragic accident before Cass was born, or the infamous bee sting that ruined Imelda's wedding celebration. Each family member struggles with the same underlying need and fragility. The question becomes whether they can guide their present toward happiness when changing the past remains impossible.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Woods
Period: Contemporary
720 pages · Paperback · Livros do Brasil
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness