The Kindness
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
BY THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A THEATRE FOR DREAMERS
LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2017
An Observer Book of the Year
'Brilliant, tender and beautiful' ANDREW O'HAGAN
'A dark, sexy little masterpiece' JOJO MOYES
'An addictive, cleverly structured and intriguing relationship story of lies and flawed communication' SUNDAY TIMES Book of the Week
'Entices you to revel in its languid, beautifully written prose while demanding that you turn the page to discover the secrets it holds ' OBSERVER Paperback of the week
Julian's fall begins the moment he sets eyes on Julia. Julia is married and eight years Julian's senior. Ignoring warnings from family and friends they give up all they have to be together. Their new life offers immense happiness, especially after their daughter Mira is born. But when Mira becomes terrifyingly ill, it is impossible for Julia to conceal the explosive secret that she has been keeping at the heart of their lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Deception poisons two marriages in Samson's (Perfect Lives) convoluted he said/she said tale of betrayal and acceptance. Julian, a gifted 21-year-old writer, first relates the tortured unraveling of his life with Julia, the older beauty for whom he falls helplessly in love after her own marriage to a brutish abuser implodes. He and a pregnant Julia ultimately move to Julian's boyhood home, scraping by with his modestly successful books, until their baby daughter's illness exposes the secret Julia has been hiding. In Julia's narration, we learn of her attraction to Julian's boyhood friend, Karl, the lie she's willing to hide to protect Julian, and the betrayal she ultimately suffers. "You'd think it would be hard to remove every trace of yourself from a life, but really, it isn't," Julia says. Their daughter, Mira, doesn't escape unscathed from this collection of sullen adults. Samson, creates a moving portrait of a family torn by the stress of a sick child and a sensuous, lyrical account of a failed marriage.
