Seven Days of Us
The hilarious and moving Radio 2 Book Club pick
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4.4 • 11 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The funny, sharply observed and life-affirming Radio 2 Book Club pick.
'Hilarious and touching' DAILY MAIL
'Warm, humane, funny and sad . . . Absolute pleasure reading' MARIAN KEYES
'Keenly observed and utterly believeable' PANDORA SYKES
'Hilariously funny' ROSAMUND LUPTON
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It's the holidays, and the Birch family is gathering for the first time in years.
Olivia, the eldest daughter, has returned from treating an epidemic abroad and must go into quarantine for seven days. Her mother has decided it's the perfect opportunity to spend some 'special time' together. Her youngest sister wholeheartedly disagrees. Her father isn't allowed an opinion.
When no one can leave the house and no one can enter, quaratine for the Birches feels like an eternity.
Especially when they're all harbouring secrets. One of which is about to come knocking at their door...
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'Absorbing, insightful and immensely enjoyable' LAURA BARNETT
'One of the best family dramas you'll ever read' BEST
'I LOVED [it] . . . has all the makings of your classic rom-com, with characters that are both remarkable yet wonderfully relatable' THE UNMUMSY MUM
'Sharply observed by Hornak's satirical eye' GLAMOUR
'One of the best books of the year' HELLO!
'Expertly captures the joys and the tensions of spending any time with those who know you best. It thoroughly deserves to be this year's big Christmas hit' THE I
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Time with family is always a highlight of the festive season, but it’s safe to say that more than a few days in close proximity can send even the closest units into a frenzy. Here, we join the Birch family as they’re forced to spend seven days together—in quarantine. Loaded with fairly shocking twists, this pacy drama is also a relatable and moving family tale. Imagine One Day meets The Holiday with a touch of soap opera melodrama and you’re on the right—and winning—track. Broadsheet journalist Francesca Hornak brings the feel-good humour and festive undertones normally reserved for romance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hornak's smart, delightfully funny, page-turning debut takes a posh, dysfunctional British family two parents, two adult daughters, each with a secret slaps on a week's worth of quarantine at Christmastime, and adds a dash of pathos as well as a large helping of humor. Do-gooder Olivia Birch is back from treating an Ebola-like epidemic in Liberia hence the catalyst for the family quarantine and doesn't want anyone to know about her affair with one of her coworkers. Andrew, her father and a former Beirut war correspondent, has just received an email from Jesse Robinson, a son in the U.S. he never knew he had from a one-night stand in Lebanon years ago. Andrew's wife, Emma, recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is determined not to ruin Christmas by spilling the beans about her illness. Daughter Phoebe has just accepted a proposal from her swanky boyfriend, George, but she's not sure she truly loves him. Jesse travels to the U.K. to meet his biological father and the ensuing coincidences, mishaps, arguments, and opportunities for self-reflection upend the Birch family relationships. As the story unfolds from various viewpoints, Hornak imbues each character with a singularity that underscores her spot-on insight about human nature.
