by JohnBurnside (Author), John Burnside (Author)
Kate, a grieving, semi-alcoholic film student, invites an elderly woman to take part in an oral-history documentary. Jean declines, but makes her a bizarre counter-offer: if Kate can stay sober for four days, she will tell her a story. If she can stay sober beyond that, there will be another, and then another, amounting to the entire history of one family's life. Gradually, Jean offers a heart-breaking account, not only of her own history - a lost lover, a family scarred by war - but of the American century itself; as a deep connection emerges between the women which will transform both of their lives.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 01 Feb 2018
ISBN 10: 0099554933
ISBN 13: 9780099554936
Book Overview: The Costa prize-winning poet and novelist is back with a remarkable novel about love grief, and the power of unlikely friendships