First published 2011
The three Andreas sisters arrive back at their childhood home within days of each other, each carrying private disasters they hope to hide. Their father, a Shakespeare professor who quotes the Bard in daily conversation, named them after literary heroines, but they feel far from heroic now. They claim they've returned to help their sick mother, but really they're fleeing their separate failures in the outside world. The sisters discover that coexisting under the same roof proves nearly impossible. They share deep familial love, yet they genuinely dislike each other as people. Old resentments surface quickly in their small hometown. Each sister must confront what drove her away years ago. The family's devotion to books becomes both refuge and mirror as they navigate their forced reunion. Their mother's illness strips away pretenses and pushes them toward honesty about their individual struggles. The Andreas women slowly realize that the very things they've spent years avoiding might actually provide what they need most.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, sibling-relationships
Setting: Shakespeare
Period: 21st-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam