First published 1951
Lucy Lewis is ten years old when she begins to see the cracks in her family's world. Her father writes novels while her mother, a Southern woman with a sharp tongue and restless spirit, fills their home with tension. Lucy observes the adults around her with the clear eyes of childhood, watching as her parents navigate their troubled marriage alongside their circle of friends. The girl witnesses conversations she doesn't fully understand and behaviors that confuse her young mind. Through Lucy's perspective, the complex dynamics of marriage, friendship, and family loyalty unfold in a household where creative ambition meets domestic discord. As Lucy tries to make sense of the grown-up world surrounding her, she discovers that the people she depends on are far more fragile and complicated than she ever imagined.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Southern
Period: 20th-century
303 pages · Hardcover · Cooper Square Publishers