January 2010 Debut of the Month.
A startling story of betrayal and grief, of love and infidelity that has a quite unexpected ending. Told from two points of view, it traces a tale of a lost love, a lost friendship and a lost daughter through to a point where everyone is hiding something from everyone else. Written in a sharp, hypnotic style, its menace grows fast and keeps you compulsively turning the pages as a complicated story unfolds, a very accomplished debut.
Comparison: Josephine Hart, Jane Fallon, Kim Edwards.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
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An exceptionally mature and tautly written first novel reminiscent of Josephine Hart's 'Damage'. Haunted by childhood loss, 23-year-old Louise takes on her late mother's name and sets out to find Nicholas, the man she has always held responsible for her mother's death. Now a middle-aged lecturer, husband and father, Nicholas has nevertheless been unable to shake off the events of his past, when he and Louise's mother, Lydia, had a clandestine, destructive and ultimately tragic affair. As Louise infiltrates his life and the lives of his family, she forms close and intimate relationships with both his son and his wife, but her true identity remains unknown to Nicholas himself. Tensions grow and outward appearances begin to crack, as Louise and Nicholas both discover painful truths about their own lives, each other and the woman they both loved.
The Art of Losing features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Debut Books of the Month, Family Drama, Book Club Recommendations, eBooks of the Month, General Fiction, Fiction, Recommendations
The Art of Losing is available in Paperback
The Art of Losing was written by Rebecca Connell and published by Fourth Estate Ltd an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
