This Has Been Absolutely Lovely

Written by Jessica Dettmann

Narrated by Michala Banas

Family is forever, and there's nothing you can do about it.

The charming, hilarious and all-too-relatable new novel from the author of How to be Second Best

'Dettmann nails the funny, sad and bizarre nuances of family life in this gripping novel that will appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty, Jojo Moyes and Marian Keyes' Sally Hepworth

Molly's a millennial home organiser about to have her first baby. Obviously her mum, Annie, will help with the childcare. Everyone else's parents are doing it.

But Annie's dreams of music stardom have been on hold for thirty-five years, paused by childbirth then buried under her responsibilities as a mother, wage earner, wife, and only child of ailing parents. Finally, she can taste freedom.

As Molly and her siblings gather in the close quarters of the family home over one fraught summer, shocking revelations come to light. Everyone is forced to confront the question of what it means to be a family.

This Has Been Absolutely Lovely is a story about growing up and giving in, of parents and children, of hope and failure, of bravery and defied expectation, and whether it is ever too late to try again.

'A pure joy to read from the first page to the last - lots of heart and emotion, but with a perfect amount of humour. My only complaint is that I didn't write it myself!' Rachael Johns

'Hilarious, poignant, and a genuine page-turner. Dettmann's tone is addictively dry and often laugh-out-loud funny, but the family drama that unfolds is a proper yarn, with lovely dramatic twists and gorgeous revelations and resolutions.' Tim Minchin

'Witty, warm, sharp and sincere. An absolutely lovely read.' Book'd Out

'Compelling and utterly charming ... A joyful, laugh-drenched, tear-soaked page-turner' Ben Elton

'Brilliantly observed, Jessica Dettmann's portrayal of messy, modern family life is packed with delicious humour and balanced with moments of real poignancy. Her knack for writing sharp, witty dialogue makes for a hugely entertaining read. I adored it.' Joanna Nell

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Jan 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781460789032

Jessica Dettmann

JESSICA DETTMAN is a Sydney-based writer, editor and performer. A graduate of the University of Sydney, she studied at the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College, Vermont, and at Lincoln College, Oxford. She once appeared as the City of Sydney Christmas angel, sitting on top of the town hall in a gown that reached the street. After a decade working as an editor at Random House Australia and HarperCollins and having two children, she began writing. Her blog, Life with Gusto, turns a sharp and affectionate eye on modern parenthood.

Reviews for This Has Been Absolutely Lovely

[shelleyraec · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This Has Been Absolutely Lovely, Jessica Dettmann’s sophomore novel, was my first read for the new year, and happily, an ideal selection.Witty, warm, sharp and sincere, this is a story of responsibilities, regrets, secrets, anxieties, dreams and dysfunction, as the family of Annie Jones, which includes her three adult children, their partners and offspring, her ex-husband, and the man he left her for, gathers under the same roof for Annie’s father’s funeral in the days before Christmas.No family is without complications, but at this particular moment, Annie’s can be said to have more complications than most. Though she had imagined that with her father’s passing she would finally be free to pursue her own dreams, as the week unfolds, Annie begins to doubt that escaping the needs of her family will ever a possibility. I quickly became invested in the characters of This Has Been Absolutely Lovely, even though I had little in common with them. They are realistic and nuanced, as are the dynamics between them. Annie garnered my complete sympathy, her daughter, Molly, not so much. I felt sorry for Simon’s wife, Diana, while Annie’s friend, Jane, made me laugh. Taking place in the northern coastal suburbs of Sydney over the Christmas period, the details of the setting are very familiar, as I spent several summer holidays with cousins who lived in the same area. We too made the daily pilgrimages to the beach, ate meals in the back yard, and played hide and seek among the plumbago.Dettmann’s writing is perceptive, tender and poignant, deftly portraying the complexities of the modern family, and exploring themes of choice, resentment, expectation, freedom, and creativity. An absolutely lovely read.