{"product_id":"9781399608213","title":"Same As It Ever Was : The immersive and joyful new novel from the author of Reese’s Bookclub pick THE MOST FUN WE EVER HAD by Claire Lombardo","description":"'Witty and insightful. A powerful exploration of marriage, motherhood, and self'BONNIE GARMUS, author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY''It was such a pleasure to bury myself in this book, a literary novel of family life which moved and surprised me. You read on ravenously'CLARE CHAMBERS, author of SMALL PLEASURESThe author of THE MOST FUN WE EVER HAD returns with a brilliantly observed family drama, in which a long marriage faces imminent derailment from events both past and present\u003cp\u003eAt fifty-seven, Julia Ames has found herself with an improbably lovely life. Despite her inclination towards self-sabotage, she has a husband she loves, two happy children and a quiet, contented existence in the suburbs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut, out of the blue, things begin to change.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer always well-behaved son, Ben, is acting strangely, and will soon make a shocking announcement.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer beloved but belligerent teenage daughter is about to depart for college, leaving Julia unexpectedly terrified of an empty nest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd, in the local grocery store, Julia encounters a woman she hasn't seen for 20 years - a woman whose friendship was once both her lifeline and, very nearly, her downfall.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConsumed with her checkered past and the chaos of her present, Julia starts to spin out of control, at risk of destroying all she most loves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing Julia over the course of a few tumultuous months, bookended by a birthday party and a wedding, and examining the fifty-plus years before, Same as It Ever Was examines the complete and complicated trajectory of one woman's life and asks what it takes to make - and to not break - a family.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePRAISE FOR CLAIRE LOMBARDO: 'A literary love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler' GUARDIAN'Lombardo juggles a huge cast of characters with seeming effortlessness, bringing each to life with humour, vividness and acute psychological insight' MADELINE MILLER, author of SONG OF ACHILLES'Lombardo has a wry, often spiky humour and tightly written style that should appeal to fans of Maria Semple, Emma Straub and Jennifer Egan' SUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/p\u003e,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Binding: Hardback,\u003cbr\u003ePagination: 512 pages","brand":"Orion Publishing Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45263433138403,"sku":"9781399608213","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1701\/6275\/files\/9781399608213_7584cf1b-ad2f-4031-8e35-2fe8a5988b22.jpg?v=1724226967","url":"https:\/\/www.harbourbookshop.co.uk\/products\/9781399608213","provider":"The Harbour Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}