A House for Alice
From the Women’s Prize shortlisted author of Ordinary People
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3.8 • 4 Ratings
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
'A stunning multi-generational kaleidoscope of London' Bernardine Evaristo
'A wise, tender novel about family and love' Monica Ali
After fifty years in London, Alice wants to return home to Nigeria. Her three daughters are divided on whether she stays or goes, and in the wake of their father’s death, the imagined stability of the family begins to fray. Meanwhile youngest sister Melissa has never let go of a love she lost, and Michael in return, even though he is now married to Nicole, is haunted by the failed perfection of the past.
Spanning three generations and set against the shadows of a nation in turmoil, these ordinary people confront fundamental questions. How to raise our children? How to do right by our parents? And how, in the midst of everything, do we satisfy ourselves?
'Heart and humour in abundance . . . The people on the page are real and raw' The Times
'So arresting, characterful, and so beautiful' Candice Carty-Williams
'I adored it. Her writing is exquisite: every sentence a jewel' Elizabeth Day
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A sequel to the brilliant Ordinary People, A House for Alice revisits the world of the previous novel and mines it for greater riches. There are familiar themes—a breakdown and its aftermath, the collapse of a marriage, families staggering under the weight of bereavement—but no lazy repetitions. Utterly devastating at times, full of hope at others, it’s a narrative that doesn’t smooth over trauma but also trusts to the love that binds us together. Even where there is cruelty there is also the possibility of redemption—a theme that works powerfully on the personal and the collective level. Dark moments of our recent history are here, but the heart of Evans’ work is always the people, her characters in all their glory and all their pain, and her tenderness towards them is unmistakable. A profound joy of a novel.
