{"product_id":"the-sisters-this-summers-most-addictively-entertaining-family-saga-9781399753630","title":"The Sisters: This summer's most addictively entertaining family saga","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn astonishing family drama of the highest order, addictively entertaining and utterly unforgettable\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eSELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY \u003ci\u003eTHE TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eAND \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e'It's been a while since we were stunned by an ambitious family saga'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e'One of this summer's most buzzed-about novels'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eMEET THE MIKKOLA SISTERS: INA, EVELYN, AND ANASTASIA.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eIna is tall, serious, a compulsive organizer. Evelyn is dreamy, magnetic, a smooth talker. And Anastasia is moody, chaotic, quick to anger.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFollowing them from afar is Jonas. Like the sisters, he's Swedish Tunisian, raised in Stockholm but yearning for so much more. His life intersects with theirs across decades and continents, from Tunis to Berlin and New York. And when Evelyn goes missing, it's Jonas who tracks her down - and helps break the curse that has loomed over the Mikkolas for years.\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e'One of those books you live inside and miss when it's over'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eIsabella Hammad, author of \u003ci\u003eEnter Ghost\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e'If you welcome this novel into your mind, it will warm and transform you'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTess Gunty, author of \u003ci\u003ethe Rabbit Hutch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Astonishing . . . every character - every sentence - is startlingly, indubitably alive'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKatie Kitamura, author of \u003ci\u003eAudition\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781399753630\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 656\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 18 Aug 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Hodder \u0026amp; Stoughton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 19.6(H)x12.8(L)x4.4(W)460\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 460\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\u003eJonas Hassen Khemiri is the author of six novels, including \u003ci\u003eThe Family Clause \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eEverything I Don't Remember\u003c\/i\u003e, seven plays, and a collection of short stories and essays. Khemiri is the recipient of a Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library, and his work has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, and numerous other publications. \u003ci\u003eThe Sisters\u003c\/i\u003e is his first book to be written in English. He lives in Brooklyn with his family and teaches in the creative writing program at New York University.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003eA quilt in the winter, a fireplace of embers, a singing kettle, a blazing forest, a steaming bath, a controlled burn - what you hold in your hands generates every kind of heat. There is violence, and some of it burns, but its most consistent and miraculous energy - the energy radiating beneath every sentence of every page - is a kind of geothermal tenderness. Jonas Hassen Khemiri's \u003ci\u003eThe Sisters\u003c\/i\u003e moves generation to generation, neighbour to neighbour, skin to skin, pulse to pulse. \u003cb\u003eIf you welcome this novel into your mind, it will warm and transform you\u003c\/b\u003e -- Tess Gunty, Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Rabbit Hutch\u003cbr\u003eI try to avoid recommending too many novels whose length could rival a dictionary's. But \u003cb\u003eI've been thinking about \u003ci\u003eThe Sisters \u003c\/i\u003eever since I finished it\u003c\/b\u003e, and now that it's out I hope you linger over it, too. -- Joumana Khatib * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sisters \u003c\/i\u003eis \u003cb\u003ea novel of unsurpassed tenderness\u003c\/b\u003e. It is about the power of stories, to make and break and finally heal us. Jonas Hassen Khemiri is a born storyteller, of rare and astonishing gifts. \u003cb\u003eEvery character \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e- every sentence - is startlingly, indubitably alive\u003c\/b\u003e -- Katie Kitamura, author of \u003ci\u003eIntimacies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sisters \u003c\/i\u003emade such an impression on me that I started dreaming about Ina, Evelyn and Anastasia and the brilliant structure of this capacious, moving novel. \u003cb\u003eIt will remain with me for a long time\u003c\/b\u003e -- Lara Haworth, author of \u003ci\u003eMonumenta\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sisters \u003c\/i\u003eis \u003cb\u003ea thoroughly fascinating story about sibling rivalry, loyalty, and love\u003c\/b\u003e, one that is about the microcosm of the family as much as it is about the bigger world. Jonas Hassen \u003cb\u003eKhemiri is the very rare combination of a deep intellectual and a true storyteller, as smart as he is entertaining. He is an important voice\u003c\/b\u003e, a curious mind, and a generous teacher to all of us who have tried to imitate him -- Fredrik Backman, author of \u003ci\u003eA Man Called Ove\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sisters \u003c\/i\u003eis \u003cb\u003ea moving appraisal of family, language, and the spiritual developments that accrue over a life\u003c\/b\u003e. Jonas Hassen Khemiri ushers you through those developments with humanity and wit and \u003cb\u003eilluminates complex familial intimacies with utter clarity\u003c\/b\u003e -- Raven Leilani, author of \u003ci\u003eLuster\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sisters \u003c\/i\u003eis \u003cb\u003ea superb novel \u003c\/b\u003eabout the pangs and longings of sibling love, about being Arab in Sweden and Swedish in Tunisia, about the strange stories that sustain us and the long rush of time. Captivating and so full of life - \u003cb\u003eone of those books you live inside and miss when it's over\u003c\/b\u003e -- Isabella Hammad, author of \u003ci\u003eEnter Ghost\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sisters \u003c\/i\u003eis Jonas Hassen Khemiri's \u003cb\u003emasterpiece\u003c\/b\u003e, a beautiful double helix of memory and imagination. Folding together Stockholm and New York, time and timelessness, self and other, it is \u003cb\u003ean immersive, wondrous reading experience. Life overflows its pages \u003c\/b\u003e -- Madeleine Thien, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of \u003ci\u003eDo Not Say We Have Nothing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn extraordinary achievement \u003c\/b\u003e. . . this is the novel that I didn't know I was waiting for -- Adam Dalva, editor of Words without Borders\u003cbr\u003eMomentous . . . I don't waver an instance when I say Jonas Hassen Khemiri is \u003cb\u003ethe greatest Swedish lyricist of a century\u003c\/b\u003e -- Johan Renck, director of \u003ci\u003eChernobyl\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSpaceman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSpanning over three decades and continents, Khemiri weaves an engaging and intricate tale about generational trauma, curses, loss and love with such ease it's almost provoking. \u003cb\u003eI read it as if my own life depended on the outcome for these sisters\u003c\/b\u003e. I laughed with them, cried with them, lived with them throughout it all. And when it ended, they stayed with me. \u003cb\u003eIt's astonishing that such a complex and epic story can be so easy to devour\u003c\/b\u003e. One of those stories I wish I could read again for the first time. -- Lisa Ambjörn, writer of the Netflix hit \u003ci\u003eYoung Royals\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Scandinavia, Khemiri is \u003cb\u003eeasily one of the most respected and decorated authors of my generation\u003c\/b\u003e. This book, his seventh, is \u003cb\u003ea classic story about sibling rivalry\u003c\/b\u003e, and it follows three chaotic and loving sisters over a period of thirty years . . . Khemiri, who is also of Swedish and Tunisian descent, lives and teaches in New York; he's a true citizen of the world, and he captures that experience in an exceptionally vivid way. \u003cb\u003eThis is one of the best novels I've ever read about the complexities of mixed heritage\u003c\/b\u003e. At nearly seven hundred pages, the book is quite long, but \u003cb\u003eKhemiri's language is propulsive \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003cb\u003eit possesses a flow and a tempo that makes you forget that you're reading\u003c\/b\u003e -- Fredrik Backman * New Yorker *\u003cbr\u003eBlending humor and pathos, Khemiri perfectly encapsulates the push and pull of living in two different and sometimes dueling cultures. It's\u003cb\u003e a staggering achievement\u003c\/b\u003e * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eI really loved this book\u003c\/b\u003e. I came to love the characters . . . if someone had cooked up a book in a lab for me, specifically, it would probably resemble this . . . \u003cb\u003ea novel to sink into\u003c\/b\u003e -- Joumana Khatib * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003eThis \u003cb\u003egripping, ambitious novel of love and lineage \u003c\/b\u003espans countries and generations * Vulture *\u003cbr\u003eFor a life-long reader, it's a pleasure to discover how different generations take an old form - family sagas - and find a fresh approach. \u003cb\u003eOne of this summer's most buzzed-about novels\u003c\/b\u003e, Jonas Hassen Khemiri's \u003ci\u003eThe Sisters\u003c\/i\u003e, which features three Swedish-Tunisian siblings, Ina, Evelyn and Anastasia Mikkola, and their life-long friend, a writer called Jonas, divides 732 pages into seven progressively shorter chapters. Khemiri told \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003ethat he \"wanted to capture how time feels. It's always speeding up as you age. The first part takes place over a year, then six months, one month, one day, and finally, one minute.\" \u003cb\u003eThe effect is startling; you age along with the Mikkolas, feeling the decades fly by as though it were your own life, your own family memories and experiences going past\u003c\/b\u003e -- Nilanjana Roy * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eOne gawps nonetheless at its breadth and ambition. It's\u003cb\u003e a transnational tour de force that squeezes and expands time like an accordion\u003c\/b\u003e, or a pair of lungs .. . . with its accumulation of small, logistical details of life - meals, sleep, sex, transportation, the bathroom, excursions, paperwork, rules, differences in electrical outlets - \u003cb\u003eit demands, and delivers\u003c\/b\u003e -- Alexandra Jacobs * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA richly introspective book\u003c\/b\u003e -- Akanksha Singh * Los Angeles Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA powerful novel that  can be compared to those of Jonathan Franzen\u003c\/b\u003e * Der Spiegel *\u003cbr\u003eAs in Jonathan Franzen's \u003ci\u003eThe Corrections\u003c\/i\u003e, the lives of three siblings form the narrative framework. And, \u003cb\u003elike Franzen, so much of the present fits within this framework that \u003ci\u003eThe Sisters\u003c\/i\u003e could be described as an 'everything novel', to use Salman Rushdie's phrase. \u003c\/b\u003eIt's about the racial violence of the nineties and contemporary Gansta rap; about New York as a destination of longing and a bizarre place of solitude during the pandemic; about Kurdish weddings and Tunisian relatives; about a fighter jet crash over Södermalm, an overcrowded Edward Said reading at Stockholm University, and the formative power of family myths. \u003cb\u003eThe real protagonist is great, almighty time, which is pushing us all through our respective lives\u003c\/b\u003e, increasingly quickly the older we get, which is why the chapters get progressively shorter: we experience the year 2000, then a month in 2013, a week at the beginning of the pandemic, a day in 2022, and a minute in 2035, in which the true nature of the curse that weighs down the lives of the three sisters is revealed. . . . The postmodern techniques are more than just autofictional revelries and dusty identity tricks. \u003cb\u003eDeep within these furious pages, there's a very existential connection between Jonas and Evelyn\u003c\/b\u003e. And here, in the text, at least, the magic that Ina yearned for, back then with Hector's parents, is achieved: that \u003cb\u003eeven the complicated and muddled chaos of the sisters' lives can be transformed into a large, independent story, with a beginning, middle and end. And maybe even a happy ever after.\u003c\/b\u003e * Süddeutsche Zeitung *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIt's been a while since we were stunned by an ambitious family saga, \u003c\/b\u003ebut the Swedish author's 637-page doorstopper is \u003cb\u003ea real winner\u003c\/b\u003e -- Best Books of 2025 * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eIf the novel has an overarching question it's whether turning your life into a story can really help you to survive it . . .  [Khemiri] knows when to tell and when to show, when the narrator should write a disturbing letter and when to have one sister slam another one's head against a frog tank. But ultimately it's a character-driven piece, with memorable women, each of whom possess a well-stocked cabinet of fears and insecurities. Ina, who is never able to relax, is particularly well drawn. In her we have \u003cb\u003ethe most poignant - and hilarious - depiction of a highly strung older sibling I've come across in contemporary fiction\u003c\/b\u003e. It's almost too painful to read the passages in which her sisters mock her . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Sisters \u003c\/i\u003eis \u003cb\u003ethe most tender, funny and engrossing family saga I've read since \u003ci\u003eThe Bee Sting\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, Paul Murray's mosaic-like account of one family's doom. \u003cb\u003eIt's ambitious, it's full of life, it's a triumph. It's the big baggy novel I've been waiting for \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e-\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e perfect for a summer holiday\u003c\/b\u003e -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e[An] \u003cb\u003eimmersive epic saga \u003c\/b\u003e. . . the multidimensional layers, its honesty and rawness, make it \u003cb\u003ea triumph\u003c\/b\u003e. The pleasure is in the writing and the fascinating lives Khemiri constructs. Like its structure, time with this novel flies. -- Charleen Hurtubise * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the most enjoyable books I've read so far in 2025 \u003c\/b\u003eis Swedish writer Jonas Hassen Khemiri's \u003ci\u003eThe Sisters. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis is a must-read for fans of Jonathan Franzen or Paul Murray's \u003ci\u003eThe Bee Sting\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e. It tells the story of the Mikkolas sisters, three Swedish-Tunisian siblings, and the mysterious curse they believe hangs over their family. Even at over 600 pages, \u003cb\u003ethe book feels like a page-turner\u003c\/b\u003e, due in part to Khemiri's use of in-built mystery and short pacy chapters normally found in a thriller, but mostly due to the captivating characters which populate this epic family drama. Khemiri is a literary superstar in his native Sweden - this is his first novel that he has written in English. \u003cb\u003eIf you are looking for one to put aside for long winter nights, this is it.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Edel Coffey * The Gloss *\u003cbr\u003eA big baggy family saga with a difference . . .  \u003cb\u003ea brilliant exploration of how families and individuals construct their own personal stories \u003c\/b\u003eto impose some kind of meaning on them -- The Best Books of 2025 * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eJonas Hassen Khemiri's epic feels like \u003cb\u003ean apt way to kick off 2026\u003c\/b\u003e's reading list, with its sprawling trip through time (from a Y2K New-Year's party to a pivotal minute in 2035) * Elle *\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Jonas Hassen Khemiri","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50628760535257,"sku":"9781399753630","price":26.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781399753630.jpg?v=1791458803","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/the-sisters-this-summers-most-addictively-entertaining-family-saga-9781399753630","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}