October 2018's Selection for the Washington Post's "Lily Lit" Book
Club
One of The Millions' "Most Anticipated" Books of 2018
Evoking the sharp insight of Little Fires Everywhere and the sweep of
NW, an incisive portrait of the bliss and torment of domestic love.
Hailed as "one of the most thrilling writers at work today" (Huffington
Post), Diana Evans reaches new heights with her searing depiction of
two couples struggling through a year of marital crisis. In a crooked
house in South London, Melissa feels increasingly that she's defined
solely by motherhood, while Michael mourns the former thrill of their
romance. In the suburbs, Stephanie's aspirations for bliss on the
commuter belt, coupled with her white middle-class upbringing, compound
Damian's itch for a bigger life catalyzed by the death of his activist
father. Longtime friends from the years when passion seemed permanent,
the couples have stayed in touch, gathering for births and
anniversaries, bonding over discussions of politics, race, and art. But
as bonds fray, the lines once clearly marked by wedding bands aren't so
simply defined. Ordinary People is a moving examination of identity
and parenthood, sex and grief, and the fragile architecture of love.
