by Linda Grant
First published 1997
Sybil Ross grows up as a pampered fashion plate in Liverpool, shaped by her Jewish furrier father and her mother's obsession with style. Her parents have molded her into an empty-headed socialite, content with surface pleasures. Then comes the worst night of the Liverpool blitz. Bombs fall across the city as Sybil uncovers a family secret that shatters everything she believed about herself. The revelation leaves her completely disoriented, questioning her identity and place in the world. When the war ends, Sybil cannot return to her old life. She sets out on a journey that takes her far from bombed-out Liverpool to the American prairies and beyond. Her travels lead her to the very edge of America, where she must make a final choice about who she wants to become. Her voyage spans decades, from the 1930s through the 1990s, as she navigates a changing world while searching for her true self.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, war, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, self-discovery
Setting: America, Liverpool
Period: 1930s, 1990s
Paperback · Picador
Content warnings: war