by Diana Evans
First published 2020
Melissa sits in her crooked South London house, feeling reduced to nothing but a mother while her husband Michael grieves for the passion they once shared. Across town in the suburbs, Stephanie dreams of perfect domestic life on the commuter belt, but her hopes only intensify Damian's restlessness and hunger for something greater. The two couples have maintained their friendship since their younger days when love felt unbreakable. They still meet for celebrations and holidays, but the old ease between them has started to crack. Wedding rings no longer mark clear boundaries as each person struggles with what they've become versus who they thought they'd be. Evans moves between intimate domestic moments and broader questions about marriage, parenthood, and the weight of expectations. The novel captures the particular experience of Britain's black middle class while exploring how ordinary lives can fracture in extraordinary ways.
Genres: literary-fiction, domestic-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: ordinary-lives, ordinary-people
Setting: Britain, South London, Suburbs
Period: Contemporary
352 pages · Paperback · Liveright