A Modern Family
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
A family holiday creates unexpected drama when Liv, Ellen and Håkon’s elderly parents announce their decision to divorce. The Norwegian Anne Tyler makes her English debut in a beautiful, insightful and perceptive novel.
***Winner of the Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize***
___________________
‘The most beautiful, elegant writing I’ve read in a long time. If you love Anne Tyler, you will ADORE this’ Joanna Cannon
‘A thoughtful and reflective novel about parents, siblings and the complex – and often challenging – ties that bind them’ Hannah Beckerman, Observer
‘I absolutely loved its quiet, insightful generosity’ Claire King
___________________
When Liv, Ellen and Håkon, along with their partners and children, arrive in Rome to celebrate their father’s seventieth birthday, a quiet earthquake occurs: their parents have decided to divorce.
Shocked and disbelieving, the siblings try to come to terms with their parents’ decision as it echoes through the homes they have built for themselves, and forces them to reconstruct the shared narrative of their childhood and family history.
A bittersweet novel of regret, relationships and rare insights, A Modern Family encourages us to look at the people closest to us a little more carefully, and ultimately reveals that it’s never too late for change…
___________________
‘The author has been dubbed the Norwegian Anne Tyler and for good reason. Three generations of a family head on a holiday to Italy to celebrate patriarch Sverre’s 70th birthday – but he and his wife have life-changing news to share. If you love books about dysfunctional families, you’ll love this’ Good Housekeeping
‘As they rebuild their childhood memories, it’s telling that their perceptions of themselves and their family relationships are so dramatically different. In quiet prose, Helga Flatland writes with elegance and subtle humour to produce a shrewd and insightful examination of the psychology of family and of loss’ Daily Express
‘I love the sophistication, directness and tenderness of this book’ Claire Dyer
‘So perceptive and clever’ Rónán Hession
‘This is a super exploration of families that I’d urge you to read for the subtle prose, with well defined characters and a strong storyline’ Sheila O’Reilly
‘It is the most satisfying book that I’ve read in a long time, and the most clear-eyed, honest, yet sympathetic examination of relationships that I have ever read. The subtlety with which she portrays the inconsistencies between how the characters see each other versus how they see themselves is masterful’ Sara Taylor
‘Reading Helga Flatland’s A Modern Family is like watching the sun rise on a cloudy horizon; light whispers and dances and breaks over the clouds. Layers of deliciously cumulative insight – a moving and exquisite read’ Shelan Rodger
‘A beautifully written novel, bittersweet, moving and poignant … a wise novel of great insight’ New Books Magazine
‘Flatland has the gift that I most often covert in the work of other writers: the ability to make everyday events compelling … an utterly compelling and satisfying read. It reminds us how full and rich life is, how the quietest existence can brim with urgency and drama’ Ann Morgan
‘A novel that prods and provokes … fascinating, incredibly profound, yet somehow tender, this really does encourage an exploration of a modern family’ LoveReading
Helga Flatland
Helga Flatland is already one of Norway’s most awarded and widely read authors. Born in Telemark, Norway, in 1984, she made her literary debut in 2010 with the novel Stay If You Can, Leave If You Must, for which she was awarded the Tarjei Vesaas’ First Book Prize. She has written four novels and a children’s book and has won several other literary awards. Her fifth novel, A Modern Family (her first English translation), was published to wide acclaim in Norway in August 2017, and was a number-one bestseller. The rights have subsequently been sold across Europe and the novel has sold more than 100,000 copies. One Last Time was published in 2020 and is currently topping bestseller lists in Norway
Read more from Helga Flatland
A Modern Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Last Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to A Modern Family
Related ebooks
Daughters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSatan is Real: Two Short Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Martins Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lament of the Dhobi Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Woman from Uruguay Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Mother Is a River Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThree Apples Fell from the Sky: The International Bestseller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nagasaki Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bella Mia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Safe as Houses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yes Yes More More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDown and Out in England and Italy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Will and Testament Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Long Live the Post Horn! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Delicacy by David Foenkinos (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Psychological Fiction For You
The Elegance of the Hedgehog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life of Pi: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Misery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Housemaid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Certain Hunger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Flight: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House Is on Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Dark Vanessa: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crime and Punishment Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Life She Was Given: A Moving and Emotional Saga of Family and Resilient Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wuthering Heights Complete Text with Extras Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Candy House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A History of Wild Places: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Have Always Lived in the Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Breasts and Eggs: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Town: A Play in Three Acts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Notes on an Execution: An Edgar Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prodigal Summer: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fifth Mountain: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Grapes of Wrath Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Good Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The End Of Alice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bean Trees: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What She Left Behind: A Haunting and Heartbreaking Story of 1920s Historical Fiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jawbone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The St. Ambrose School for Girls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for A Modern Family
23 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was very well translated, and I read it in more or less one sitting. It was thought-provoking, especially with regard to the way different family members can see the same events from very different perspectives. I found the tone gently sad throughout, and it made me very thankful for my own life and relationships. All the characters were flawed and yet sympathetic, and my favourite section was the last one from Hakon's point of view, as he reconsiders his views on marriage.