Claire Lombardo Books

APRIL 2024 REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020 AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'A literary love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler . . . outstanding and highly enjoyable' Observer 'The Most Fun We Ever Had is as good as books come' Telegraph 'I loved this book' Bryony Gordon 'The perfect, engrossing holiday read' RED 'A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory' Madeline Miller 'A moving, immersive, often very funny study of family and sisterhood' Sunday Times 'Like Meg Wolitzer. A forensic dissection of family past and present, I loved it. If you like reading about relationships, this one is for you.' Pandora Sykes MEET THE SORENSON FAMILY. MARILYN has somehow fallen into motherhood and spent four decades married to DAVID, who's pretty certain he loves her more than anyone has ever loved another person. WENDY, their eldest, a cause for concern, soothes herself with drink after being widowed young, while VIOLET, lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-mother, is disturbed by the reappearance of a son placed for adoption fifteen years earlier. LIZA, a professor, is pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves and GRACE, their dawdling youngest daughter, lives a lie that no one in her family suspects.

Julia Ames, after a youth marked by upheaval and emotional turbulence, has found herself on the placid plateau of mid-life. But Julia has never navigated the world with the equanimity of her current privileged class. Having nearly derailed herself several times, making desperate bids for the kind of connection that always felt inaccessible to her, she finally feels, at age fifty seven, that she has a firm handle on things. She’s unprepared, though, for what comes next: a surprise announcement from her straight-arrow son, an impending separation from her spikey teenaged daughter, and a seductive resurgence of the past, all of which threaten to draw her back into the patterns that had previously kept her on a razor’s edge. Same As It Ever Was traverses the rocky terrain of real life, —exploring new avenues of maternal ambivalence, intergenerational friendship, and the happenstantial cause-and-effect that governs us all. Delving even deeper into the nature of relationships—how they grow, change, and sometimes end—Lombardo proves herself a true and definitive cartographer of the human heart and asserts herself among the finest novelists of her generation.

Witty and insightful, this powerful exploration delves into marriage, motherhood, and self. The author of a previous acclaimed novel returns with a brilliantly observed family drama, where a long marriage faces imminent derailment from both past and present events. At fifty-seven, Julia Ames enjoys an improbably lovely life, with a husband she loves and two happy children in a quiet suburban existence. However, unexpected changes begin to unfold. Her well-behaved son, Ben, starts acting strangely, leading to a shocking announcement. Meanwhile, her beloved yet belligerent teenage daughter is preparing to leave for college, igniting Julia's fears of an empty nest. A chance encounter with a woman from her past—once a lifeline and nearly a downfall—adds to Julia's turmoil. As she grapples with her checkered past and chaotic present, she risks losing everything she cherishes. Spanning a few tumultuous months, framed by a birthday party and a wedding, this narrative examines the complex trajectory of one woman's life and explores the delicate balance required to maintain a family. The author’s style combines humor, vividness, and acute psychological insight, appealing to fans of contemporary literary fiction.

Julia Ames, Ende fünfzig, scheint ein glückliches Leben zu führen, bis unerwartete Nachrichten ihrer Kinder und eine Begegnung mit einer alten Freundin ihre Welt auf den Kopf stellen. Der Roman erforscht Julias komplexe Gefühle und die entscheidenden Momente, die das Schicksal ihrer Familie beeinflussen.