'The literary love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler' Observer

'A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory' Madeline Miller

'Should appeal to fans of Maria Semple, Emma Straub and Jennifer Egan' Sunday Times

'The perfect, engrossing holiday read' Red

APRIL 2024 REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'A literary love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler . . . outstanding and highly enjoyable' Observer

'The Most Fun We Ever Had is as good as books come' Telegraph

'I loved this book' Bryony Gordon

'The perfect, engrossing holiday read' RED

'A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory' Madeline Miller

'A moving, immersive, often very funny study of family and sisterhood' Sunday Times

'Like Meg Wolitzer. A forensic dissection of family past and present, I loved it. If you like reading about relationships, this one is for you.' Pandora Sykes

MEET THE SORENSON FAMILY.

MARILYN has somehow fallen into motherhood and spent four decades married to

DAVID, who's pretty certain he loves her more than anyone has ever loved another person.

WENDY, their eldest, a cause for concern, soothes herself with drink after being widowed young,

while VIOLET, lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-mother, is disturbed by the reappearance of a son placed for adoption fifteen years earlier.

LIZA, a professor, is pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves

and GRACE, their dawdling youngest daughter, lives a lie that no one in her family suspects.

Details

ISBN13: 9781474611886
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 544
Edition:
Publication Date: 14 Jul 2020
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 19.6(H)x12.8(L)x3.6(W)375
Weight (gm): 375

Author Biography

CLAIRE LOMBARDO earned her MFA in fiction at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her debut novel, THE MOST FUN WE EVER HAD, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has been translated or is forthcoming in over a dozen languages. It has been optioned for television by Reese Witherspoon. SAME AS IT EVER WAS is her second novel. Claire has worked as a social worker and currently teaches fiction writing. She was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, and now lives in Iowa City, Iowa.

Reviews

If ever there were to be a literary love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler, then Claire Lombardo's outstanding debut, which ranges from ebullience to despair by way of caustic but intense familial bonds, would be a worthy offspring...This is a novel epic in scope-emotionally, psychologically and narratively. Combining a broad thematic canvas with impressive emotional nuance, it's an assured and highly enjoyable debut.

- GUARDIAN

A rich, engrossing family saga, spiked with sisterly malice...[rendered] with such skill and finely tuned interest that it feels like a quiet subversion of the traditional family saga. - The New York Times Book Review

The big family saga of the summer - EW

A sharp, sly family story of feminine guile and guilt...A fun and brimming tale...Divine - Kirkus

An expansive U.S. family saga, expertly rendered - Daily Mail

Lombardo has a wry, often spiky humour and tightly written style that should appeal to fans of Maria Semple, Emma Straub and Jennifer Egan ... A moving, immersive, often very funny study of family and sisterhood. - Sunday Times

A spry, sly and funny read - Sunday Express

A funny, complex, tragic and immersive family sage which spans forty years. This is the perfect, engrossing holiday read - Red