Family Album Tapa dura - 2009

de Penelope Lively

A novel of family intrigue from"one of the most accomplishedwriters of fiction of our day"(The Washington Post)

All Alison ever wanted was a blissful childhood forher six children, with summers at the beach and birthdayparties on the lawn at their family home. Togetherwith Ingrid, the family au pair, she has worked hardto create a real "old-fashioned family life." But beneathits postcard sheen, the picture is clouded by a distantfather, Alison's inexplicable emotional outbursts, andlong-repressed secrets that no one dares mention. Foryears, Alison's adult children have protected her illusionof domestic perfection-but as each child confrontsthe effects of past choices on their current adultlives, it becomes evident that each must face the truth.

Penelope Lively's novels of history, memory, andcharacter have earned her a loyal readership. LikeIan McEwan's Atonement, this novel is a measured,thoughtful look at how events of the past, both smalland large, seen and unseen, deeply inform characterand the present. Quietly provocative and disturbing,Family Album is a highly nuanced work that showcasesa master of her craft.