Ripeness
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By Sarah Moss
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1 review
The perfect book club spring read from the Sunday Times bestselling author.
In 1960s Italy, a family secret rips a teenage girl’s world apart, only for her to discover its true meaning decades later.
‘Moss makes every moment count’ – The Sunday Times
‘A book of lasting pleasures’ – Eleanor Catton
‘Powerful and beautifully written’ – The Guardian
Just out of school and teetering on the brink of adulthood, Edith is sent alone to rural Italy. Her task is simple: support her sister Lydia, a brilliant but brittle ballet dancer, through the final weeks of her pregnancy. Once the baby is born, she is to make a phone call that will change all of their lives forever.
Decades later, Edith is living a contented life in Ireland, happily divorced and finally free. But with the arrival of an unexpected message, Edith must face the truth of that long-ago summer, and the secret she has carried for a lifetime.
‘Tender and rueful’ – Emma Donoghue
’A delicious novel’ – Literary Review
‘Sublime . . . glorious’ – Vogue
‘Luminous’ – Financial Times
‘Beautifully crafted . . . absorbing and moving’ – Daily Mail
Reviews
Set between 1960's Italy and modern day Ireland Ripeness is a totally engrossing, multi-layered and moving story of family, friendship and identity. Beautifully written it moves as languorously as the late summer days Edith spends at the Italian villa. Gorgeous book.
