Accidents in the Home by Tessa Hadley

Accidents in the Home

Tessa Hadley

When Clare, married with three children, renews acquaintance with someone whom she slept with at a teenage party you are left wondering if the relationship will be re-ignited. As well as Clare's story, we get to know about her family, including her thrice married father and his numerous interesting offspring. With the help of a handy family tree at the front of the book and the beautiful style of debutant novelist Tessa Hadley, I found that I could really immerse myself in the trials and tribulations of this extended family.

Extract
On her way to the room with the sofa, someone had put music on, trancey electronic music - Clare saw her coat and briefcase on a chair by the front door. She imagined going to her B and B after all, burying herself in anonymous clean sheets, drinking tea and nursing her hangover, watching television all alone. It seemed to her a desperate and dreadful eventuality, an absolute defeat for ever and ever; but it was also all she had it in her to desire now, now her gods had abandoned her, and she suddenly longed for it.
Parallels
  • Marriage Games by Amanda Brookfield
  • City of the Mind by Penelope Lively