‘It’s been a while since we were stunned by an ambitious family saga’
The Times
SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
‘One of the best novels I’ve ever read about the complexities of mixed heritage’
New Yorker
‘One gawps at its breadth and ambition’
New York Times
‘If you are looking for one to put aside for long winter nights, this is it’
The Gloss
MEET THE MIKKOLA SISTERS: INA, EVELYN, AND ANASTASIA.
Ina is tall, serious, a compulsive organizer. Evelyn is dreamy, magnetic, a smooth talker. And Anastasia is moody, chaotic, quick to anger.
Following them from afar is Jonas. Like the sisters, he’s Swedish Tunisian, raised in Stockholm but yearning for so much more. His life intersects with theirs across decades and continents, from Tunis to Berlin and New York. And when Evelyn goes missing, it’s Jonas who tracks her down - and helps break the curse that has loomed over the Mikkolas for years.
‘One of this summer’s most buzzed-about novels’
Financial Times
‘Superb . . . one of those books you live inside and miss when it’s over’
Isabella Hammad, author of Enter Ghost
‘A moving appraisal of family, language, and the spiritual developments that accrue over a life’
Raven Leilani, author of Luster
‘A thoroughly fascinating story about sibling rivalry, loyalty, and love’
Fredrik Backman, author of A Man Called Ove
‘If you welcome this novel into your mind, it will warm and transform you’
Tess Gunty, author of the Rabbit Hutch
‘Astonishing . . . every character - every sentence - is startlingly, indubitably alive’
Katie Kitamura, author of Audition
‘His masterpiece . . . life overflows its pages’
Madeleine Thien, author of Do Not Say We Have Nothing