"A jewel of a novel by New York Times bestselling author Claire Messud
When the Armstrong family moves from New York at the dawn of the 1970s, Australia feels, to Alice Armstrong, like the end of the earth. Residing in a grand manor on the glittering Sydney Harbour, her family finds their life has turned
upside down. As she navigates this strange new world, Alice must weave an existence from its shimmering mirage.
Lies and self-deception are at the heart of this keenly observed story. This is a sharp, biting and playful tale with a cast of unscrupulous characters adrift in a dream life of their own making.
Written with the characteristic delicacy of touch, humour and emotional insight that make Claire Messud one of our greatest writers."
"Thalia Book Club:
The New York Times best-selling author of the literary page-turner The Emperor's Children discusses her richly drawn new novel with Meghan O'Rourke (The Long Goodbye). Her latest release is a riveting compulsively readable confession of a 37-year-old elementary school teacher in Cambridge, Mass, drawn into the complex world of her new neighbors -- a Lebanese scholar and professor of Ethical History, his glamorous Italian artist wife and their son -- who move in and change her life in ways she never expected. With a reading from the novel by Patricia Kalember (Don't Dress for Dinner)."
"The New York Times best-selling author of the literary page-turner The Emperor's Children discusses her richly drawn new novel with Meghan O'Rourke (The Long Goodbye). Her latest release is a riveting compulsively readable confession of a 37-year-old elementary school teacher in Cambridge, Mass, drawn into the complex world of her new neighbors -- a Lebanese scholar and professor of Ethical History, his glamourous Italian artist wife and their son -- who move in and change her life in ways she never expected. With a reading from the novel by Patricia Kalember (Don't Dress for Dinner)."
