Graham and Annie have been married for almost thirty years, a loving, successful marriage. Graham is a bookseller, and a large man in every sense – big as a bear, gregarious, a lover of life and the host of frequent, lively parties at the home he shares with Annie. At the moment the narrative begins, Graham has had a short, impulsive affair, one he regrets almost instantly and is determined to end.
Annie is smaller, more reserved, maybe more unknowable, something her daughter Sarah has accused her of in her adolescence. She’s a photographer, about to have her first show in five years, anxious that her best years professionally may be behind her.
Graham’s sudden death and Annie’s discovery of his infidelity propel the action of the book, which traces her in her pain and confusion; and follows also the others affected by Graham’s death – his first wife, Frieda, and Lucas, his son with her; as well as Sarah, Graham and Annie’s child together.
This is a novel about marriage, then, and loss. About family, and the secrets they keep from one another. About the transformative power of memory, and the triumph of love over death itself.
