A Place For Us by Harriet Evans Genres: Women's Fiction
Published by Gallery Books Publication Date: 2 June 2015
Pages: 448
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From international bestselling author Harriet Evans, an engrossing new novel about a woman who, on the eve of her eightieth birthday, decides to reveal a secret that may destroy her perfect family.The day Martha Winter decided to tear apart her family began like any other day.When Martha, a wife and mother of three, sits down one late summerβs morning to write out the invitations to her eightieth birthday celebration, she knows that what she is planning to reveal at the party could ruin the idyllic life she and her husband David have spent over fifty years buildingβ¦But she has to let her family know what she and David have sacrificed. She canβt live a lie any more.The invitation goes out far and wide, calling her three children and their families back home to Winterfold, their rambling house in the heart of the English countryside. They are Bill, the doctor; Florence, the eccentric academic; and Daisy, the child who never fit in. As the story unfolds, each character reveals the secrets, joys, and tragedies they are wrestling with through the confines of the family. What will happen when Martha finally tells the truth?
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from Provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
Joelle’s Thoughts
No doubt about it, this one was a tear-jerker! I haven’t read anything else by Harriet Evans, but I enjoyed this book. This was a very intricatley told story with many storylines and complex characters. I was worried I wouldn’t keep them all straight, but Evans really developed every character–I could picture them all in my mind’s eye. The Winter family held many secrets. I guess most families do, but their’s were deep secrets. One can understand why Martha, matriarch of the family, kept many of the secrets—why tell people information that could hurt them or isn’t really necessary for them to know? As the stories unfold though, she begins to see that secrets can be detrimental and that the truth needs to be told. As readers find out, Martha and David aren’t the only ones with secrets. Everyone in the Winter family seems to have baggage. When Martha sends out a “mysterious” invitation for the whole family to gather at their sprawling country home, none can resist her summon. This book was bittersweet in so many ways. Evans told a family’s saga with a very nostalgic voice. I got very attached to these characters and sympathized with them. I was very much rooting for them to come back together–and they did, but maybe not in the way readers will want them to. Many changes take place and secrest are exposed, but in the end, they do come together as family. I definitely recommend this one!
