by Ali Smith
First published 2017
Art historian Sophia Cleeves hasn't spoken to her son Art in years. But this winter, he's bringing an unexpected guest home to her fifteen-bedroom Cornwall house—a stranger he's recruited to pose as his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Sophia herself is wrestling with memory, isolation, and the ghosts of her own fractured family history. When Art arrives with Lux, a clever and resourceful immigrant who knows more about Art's family than she should, the household becomes a pressure cooker of unspoken tensions. Sophia's estranged sister Iris—a political activist with her own complicated past—unexpectedly appears, further disrupting any hope of a calm holiday. As winter tightens its grip around the house, each character must confront their own disconnections: from each other, from society, and from themselves. Smith weaves a razor-sharp exploration of contemporary Britain, family rupture, and the delicate negotiations of human connection. A story about what happens when strangers—and estranged family—are forced together in close quarters, discovering that healing might be possible in the most unexpected moments.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: estranged-family, forced-proximity
Setting: Cornwall (England : County)
321 pages · Paperback · Hamish Hamilton