Publisher's Synopsis
On a midsummer's night Paula lies awake, Mike, her husband of twenty-five years asleep beside her, her two teenage children, Nick and Kate, sleeping in nearby rooms. The next day, she knows, will redefine all their lives. Recalling the years before and after her children were born, she begins a story which is both a glowing celebration of love possessed and a moving acknowledgement of the fear of loss, of the fragilities, illusions and secrets on which even our most intimate sense of who we are can rest. It is 1995. A revelation lies in store. Her children's future lies before them. The house holds a family's history and fate. As a millenium draws to its close, and as day draws nearer, Paula's intensely personal thoughts touch on all our tomorrows.
'Northing rings false, all the emotions are just large enough . . . the book weaves and undoes it quiet magic . . . the result is something both ordinary and radical' Anne Enright, Guardian
'Over its course, a subtle picture emerges of how coupledom is deepened by parenthood' Robert MacFarlane, Sunday Times
'A forgiving enquiry into the lies we tell, a wonderful clarity about the ambiguities of being honest' Scotsman
