Bitter
A novel to detonate the heart, gripping, moving and unforgettable
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
'A novel to detonate the heart. Fans of Gail Honeyman and Joanna Cannon will love Bitter' A.J. Finn, author of The Woman in the Window
'As gripping as Zoe Heller's Notes on A Scandal' Peter Bradshaw, Guardian Film Critic
'Brilliantly paced, moving, thoughtful and sharp. Loved it' Renée Knight, author of Disclaimer
'An absolutely astonishing first novel' Michael Frayn, author of Spies
It's 1969, and while the summer of love lingers in London, Gilda is consumed by the mistakes of her past. She walked out on her beloved son Reuben when he was just a boy and fears he will never forgive her. When Reuben marries Alice, he seems transformed by love - a love Gilda has craved his entire adult life. What does his new wife have that she doesn't? And how far will she go to find out? It's an obsession that will bring shocking truths about the past to light . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1934, the wealthy father of Gilda Meyer, the narrator of British author Jakobi's engrossing first novel, pushes her at 17 into marrying Frank Goodman, a business associate of his more than twice her age. Gilda, a student at a Surrey boarding school where she's ostracized because she's a German Jew, feels unprepared for marriage. In 1939, she gives birth to a son, Reuben, but severe postpartum depression prevents her from bonding with him. At the center for European refugees where she gets a job teaching English, she falls madly in love with Leo Zubek, a teacher from Poland. After she tells Frank about Leo, he agrees to a divorce if she relinquishes full custody of Reuben. Over the years, her relationship with her son grows distant. After Reuben marries Alice, a non-Jew, in 1969, Gilda becomes unhealthy involved in their lives. She spies on the couple obsessively, even secretly entering their London home. An inadvertent remark by Gilda's mother brings secrets to the surface, and Gilda realizes her life isn't what she believed it to be. Gilda's personal trials will keep readers in thrall to the bittersweet ending.)
