Things We Need

Things We Need

by JenniferClose (Author)

Synopsis

`In the Coffey house, there was always a list taped to the refrigerator. At the top, it was titled: THINGS WE NEED. The title was always capped and underlined, as if to stress that yes, this is important, these aren't just things we want, these are things we need.' Will and Weezy Coffey thought they'd prepared their three children for the challenges and hurdles of adult life. But being a grown-up isn't easy. Claire's engagement has been called off and she's hiding from her debts. Martha's in a career crisis and even her sympathetic therapist is losing patience. And Max, the baby of the family in his final year at college, has got himself into a serious girlfriend fiasco. Things We Need tells a story we all recognise, only a wittier, wiser version. Jennifer Close turns her gimlet eye and deadpan humour on the messiness of family life. A story about modern life and the place we return to when things go drastically awry: home.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Publisher: Chatto & Windus
Published: 04 Jul 2013

ISBN 10: 0701186658
ISBN 13: 9780701186654
Book Overview: The author of GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES turns her gimlet eye upon family relationships. An acutely-observed, off-centre novel about that place you return to when things go staggeringly awry: home

Media Reviews
Things We Need is emotionally engaging and thoughtful; like Anne Tyler, Close goes straight into the heart of a group of people to show all its flawed, complicated members clearly and deftly and totally without judgment. There is not one dull moment - Close is a subtle and incisive writer who gets better with each new book. -- Kate Christensen, author of The Astral
Witty... A great story about the messiness of modern family life * Marie Claire *
Things We Need is as close to perfect a read as you can get if you're in the mood for a light-hearted (but never trite) family tale * Connaught Telegraph *
Close is good at capturing the complicated dynamics of family life, particularly the way in which people who fundamentally love each other can drive each other insane... Moving -- Anna Carey * Sunday Business Post *
Author Bio
Jennifer Close was born and raised on the North Shore of Chicago. She is a graduate of Boston College and received her MFA in Fiction Writing from the New School in 2005. She worked in New York in magazines for many years. She now lives in Washington, D.C., and teaches creative writing at George Washington University. Her first novel, Girls in White Dresses, was published in the UK in 2012.