{"product_id":"other-peoples-children-9781803513010","title":"Other People's Children","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA story of complicated families and a wartime secret that ripples down through the generations from a writer of exceptional talent.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTommaso is just about making it work: travelling abroad for his job, helping his girlfriend with her two unruly sons, and keeping up with the eccentricities of his Italian grandmother, Alma. But as Alma grows increasingly troubled by strange and unsettling memories, Tommaso realises that there is much in her past that he doesn't know. And the more he discovers, the more it seems that the secrets she has guarded for so long might not only overwhelm her, but upend his own precariously balanced life too.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReaching back to the tumultuous days of the Italian resistance during the Second World War and into the domestic chaos of modern life, this is a story of the past's long shadow, and the families we have and those we make.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781803513010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 04 Aug 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Granta Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 21.6(H)x13.8(L)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eBEN FACCINI is a novelist, writer and translator who grew up in an Anglo-Italian-French family. Having worked for many years for a United Nations agency in Paris, Faccini has written extensively about educational innovations around the world. He is the author of two previous novels, \u003ci\u003eThe Water-Breather\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Incomplete Husband\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in London.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003eOther People's Children is a keeper... It has imagination, wisdom and historical resonance, and looks into its characters and out to the world at the same time. This is a slow-burn book, but it doesn't half catch fire in the end * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eA slow-build story that executes one of the best narrative reveals I've read in ages, embedded within a story of one man's attempt to keep everyone in his family happy. It's so plausible, it hurts * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003eGenerous, intelligent, beautiful - a book that will get under your skin, into your blood and bones. I loved it -- Katherine Rundell\u003cbr\u003eA beautifully balanced work about the fragility of family - biological or otherwise - and the mysteries it is sometimes necessary to preserve in order to maintain that unit... A consummately written work of fate, regret and resolution * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eWhat a quietly beautiful novel this is. There are many pages in this book that I read and wanted to carefully pull out and press into the hands of the writers I work with, to say: \"Look at this scene, this sentence - this is how it's done\" -- Ross Raisin\u003cbr\u003eLike the best italian agrodolce, Ben Faccini's writing leaves the reader uncertain whether what they are enjoying is sweet or acerbic. He writes brilliantly about childhood and childishness and, in this instance, about the passions and fears of the very old... Compulsory reading not just for parents everywhere but for anyone convinced that the challenge of migration ends with the arrival in a place of safety -- Patrick Gale\u003cbr\u003eThis story about the impact of history on human lives is remarkably sensitively told -- Jung Chang\u003cbr\u003eLuminous and compelling... Shines a devastating spotlight on the treatment of Italians in the UK during WWII, and on its intergenerational legacy. A story about the absorption of loss, the fragility of memory, and ultimately, the power of love -- Alba Arikha * author of Two Hours and Where to Find Me *\u003cbr\u003eFrom its first page, Other People's Children seemed to be about a family I already knew and cared for, and I read it utterly absorbed. In this haunting novel about the unsettling reach of trauma and secrets, the past emerges feature by feature, as if an old painting were revealing itself under a new one until the picture is forever altered -- Anuradha Roy\u003cbr\u003eAlive with vivid detail, Ben Faccini's third novel weaves personal and national histories into a deeply affecting meditation on the treasures and burdens passed across time, with the Italian grandmother, Alma, as its miraculous beating heart -- William Fiennes * author of The Snow Geese and The Music Room *\u003cbr\u003eIn this deeply moving novel, Faccini manages to tell two parallel tales, a romantic comedy and a tragedy * AnOther Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eMesmerising... A vivid, emotional story * Buzz Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eThere are layers of meaning to the title of this sharply observed tale of midlife crisis, which nests a buried episode of wartime horror deep inside a modern-day parenting drama set in London * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eHaunted and masterful... This novel is the summer reading (actually any time of the year) you have been waiting for\u003cbr\u003eElegantly written and astute as it traces family ties and the long shadow of history * Economist *\u003cbr\u003eFaccini writes about relationships with such a keen eye that there were sentences I wanted to pick up and cradle. This is a book to savour * Evening Standard *","brand":"Ben Faccini","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49077126004953,"sku":"9781803513010","price":36.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781803513010.jpg?v=1786457210","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/other-peoples-children-9781803513010","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}