Love And Other Impossible Pursuits

Description

A superbly page-turning novel about modern parenthood and its pitfalls Is Emilia the wicked stepmother incarnate? Passionately in love with her husband, Emilia has a secret, guilty loathing for her precocious little stepson, William - a forty-year-old in a five-year-old's body, whom she picks up from nursery every Wednesday afternoon. He is lactose intolerant, she feeds him dairy products; he mustn't get cold, she pushes him - accidentally - into the pond in Central Park. How can she forgive William for living, when her own cherished child has gone? 'Moving and darkly funny, romantic, shocking, painful page-turner...says something new and interesting about women, families and love' New York Times 'One moment I was laughing out loud..the next I had tears pouring down...whether you're a parent or not, you can't fail to be moved' Daily Express

Ayelet Waldman was a criminal defence lawyer before she became a full-time writer. She is married to the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon and they live in California with their four children.Love and Other Impossible Pursuits is her first novel to be published in the UK.

Wicked stepmothers everywhere have cause to cheer. Waldman tells it like it is: Tough, touching and very very funny -- Bella Pollen, author of Hunting Unicorns 'I felt utterly wrung out after I'd read it. Such powerful, honest writing ...All through the story Ayelet Waldman maintains the balance between candidly demonstrating all her heroine's flaws and yet never once losing our sympathy...Fantastic' -- Kate Long, author of The Bad Mother's Handbook Waldman hooks us from page one ... Tells it with a wittiness and pace which never slacken * Independent on Sunday * What is excellent about this book is its realism, crisp observations, and the easy identification it successfully invites * Guardian * 'This book deals with a painful theme in the funniest, most touching and intelligent way. It charts the excruciatingly recognisable traits of mothering brilliantly. I read it in one sitting. I was filled with envy and awe -- Arabella Weir, author of Does My Bum Look Big in This?