Publisher Description
WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2009
AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK
Jack Boughton - prodigal son - has been gone twenty years. He returns home seeking refuge and to make peace with the past. A bad boy from childhood, an alcoholic who cannot hold down a job, Jack is perpetually at odds with his surroundings and with his traditionalist father, though he remains Boughton's most beloved child. His sister Glory has also returned, fleeing her own mistakes, to care for their dying father. A moving book about families, about love and death and faith, Home is unforgettable. It is a masterpiece.
'One of the greatest living novelists' BRYAN APPLEYARD, SUNDAY TIMES
'A luminous, profound and moving piece of writing. There is no contemporary American novelist whose work I would rather read' MICHAEL ARDITTI, INDEPENDENT
'Her novels are replete with a sense of felt life, with a deep and abiding sympathy for her characters and a full understanding of their inner lives' COLM TOIBIN
'Utterly haunting' JANE SHILLING, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This bittersweet novel about the complexities of family is best listened to with a box of tissues nearby. A sequel of sorts to Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer-winning Gilead, Home takes place in the same small Iowa town during the same 1950s time frame, but it’s a standalone story. When ailing minister Robert Boughton gets a visit from two of his eight children, Glory and Jack, the family’s emotional turmoil bubbles to the surface. Jack’s a lifelong ne’er-do-well who fled town 20 years ago, while a broken engagement has left Glory emotionally shattered. The three family members awkwardly dance around their problems in a way that’s both relatable and heartbreaking, struggling to love each other despite their profound feelings of anger, envy, and disappointment. Narrator Maggi-Meg Reed’s rich, colourful performance makes us feel like a fly on the wall of the Boughton home. Robinson nails the push and pull of family dynamics, revealing many emotional truths about the human condition.
