This Family: Your perfect summer read

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Sawyer's characterisation throughout This Family is excellent; although there were many different characters and different PoVs I was clear about whose perspective I was reading at all times. demands to be experienced... A glorious, sweeping family saga from one of the most exciting novelists of recent times.' JESS MOOR Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration This Family is Kate Sawyer’s second novel, the follow up to her debut novel The Stranding about a woman who climbs into the mouth of a whale at the end of the world. I adored The Stranding and haven’t stopped recommending it since 2021. Kate Sawyer is an extraordinary, original writer... An immersive and absorbing read - I could not put this book down." - Aliya Ali-Afzal

And on this sunny afternoon, the house will tell a story about this family. About the family they used to be, the one that is, and hopefully the one there still might be. Beautiful and compelling ... the most complex of dynamics are handled with the lightest, deftest touch... masterful.' LAURA KAY There is Mary’s eldest, Emma who is flying in from Los Angeles, Phoebe, a journalist and alcoholic with her partner, actor Michael Regis and their two young kids. There is Rosie ( not a biological daughter) with her partner, Danyal. There is also Mary‘s mother-in-law, Irene with whom she has had a fractious relationship over the years. Irene, of the “don’t read at the table dear” history. I’d spit in her eye for that if she were my mother in law, I thought as I read it ! Weirdly, her ex husband, Richard ( a difficult character at the best of times) is cooking a pig on a spit for the wedding celebrations. They are all trying to hold things together for Mary’s sake, as she’s a kind and enveloping person who does so much for others. Ruth is ignoring the news. Like most people, she has relations hip problems, job stress, friends and family who need her. Ruth has a life.Captures the ebb and flow of family dynamics in Chekhovian detail... makes you want to call out, wait for me! as the end approaches and the characters depart.' SUSANNAH WISE Emma was a wonderfully complex character. From the outside everyone has an opinion of her, and a perception, that she seems to take some joy in perpetuating. She is feisty and speaks her mind, sometimes causing arguments (which are particularly explosive with Phoebe) and touching the nerves of those around her. Doesn’t she deserve to get married in a peaceful environment rather than endure hostility, recrimination or rejection between her offspring? As this troubled family saga unfolds, her hopes seem unlikely to come to fruition. Absorbing and unexpected. It took some turns that I really didn't see coming, but which nonetheless felt plausible and satisfying -- Rebecca Wait

We don't find out who Mary is marrying until about half way through the book. I had a feeling who it might be though from commentary earlier in the book! Much drama has ensued over the decades. There is a lot of toing and froing from past to present. There are very complicated family dynamics at play here. Whilst this story can be sad, there is also some humour in it. It is a very insightful tale. The ending is excellent. Unfolds like a great piece of theatre... The more I read, the harder it became to put down." - Bobby PalmerI think that this will appeal to readers who love family sagas and the intimate dynamics of family life. The author has the ability to define characters so well that you really feel by the end of the story that you know them all and I could recognise my own friends and family members in them Told from multiple points of view, it follows four generations of one family as they come together for a wedding. This will be the first time they are all together since unknown events fractured them into pieces, but sisters Emma, Phoebe, and Rosie have agreed to put their own feelings aside for their mother Mary’s special day. But the pain runs deep between them, and they are unprepared for some of the feelings that arise when they see one another for the first time in years. This novel perfectly encapsulates the essence of family life with all of its messiness, drama, pain, and complex relationships. This is a family that is broken and we see how tensions run even higher during claustrophobic and anxiety-laden situations such as a wedding. The characters are all richly drawn, compelling, flawed and relatable. I had a particular affinity for Mary, who is a kind, selfless woman that has always given her all to her family, even raising the child her husband had with his mistress after her death. I think a lot of this affinity stemmed from having raised children from two families in a blended household myself, as well as the fact that my children are now grown and I’ve just had my second wedding. I also really enjoyed Irene, the cantankerous mother of Mary’s ex-husband Richard and the delightful Rosie, who was the only sister talking to everyone.