A Family Matter

No one need know about her mother's deviationA mother following her heartA father with the law on his sideA child caught in the middle'I'll be thinking about it forever' Barbara Kingsolver'Powerful ...smart and often heartbreaking' Guardian‘A brilliant book… Full of heart, sympathy and sadness’ Sara Pascoe'I was caught up from the first page' Clare Chambers'I am in awe... a must read' Jennie Godfrey‘Beautifully written’ Good Housekeeping, Book of the Month

'Lynch’s debut burns like a sparkler, quick and mesmerizing.' ― New York Times

Affecting... Distilling sadness and hope , Lynch movingly weighs the gifts and costs of the era into which a person is born ― Mail on Sunday

'I was caught up from the first page, and completely taken aback by this story of restraint and 'civilised' behaviour, and things unsaid. I loved it’ ― Clare Chambers

‘A wonderful novel: profoundly sad but also absolutely gripping… it manages to be damning about a culture and a system whilst being compassionate towards the human beings pitted against each other inside that system’ ― Mark Haddon

'A beautiful and tender exploration of parental love, prejudice and the things we carry that we don’t even fully understand; the terrible decisions made in ignorance, and the almost unbearable consequences' ― Rachel Joyce

I smiled. I cried. I raged. Claire Lynch has written an un-put-downable novel, and I want everyone to read it. Lynch takes part of our recent history of shame and stigma, and makes it real and beautiful and moving and challenging. Every page sings out with empathy and love, pain and honesty. And the writing - so precise, so deceptively simple, so beautiful in its tiny moments - makes the pages speed by. This book will make you look differently at the world.' ― Emilie Pine

'To tackle heart-wrenching emotion with such precision and restraint takes one hell of a talent. An impeccable debut that takes the mess of life and turns it into something quite beautiful. A timely reminder of love’s redemptive power. I was blown away by this novel.' ― Lotte Jeffs

I’m full of admiration for this novel, which strikes the satisfying balance of being both quietly observed and deeply felt. It’s an intimate portrait of expectation, love and restraint written with great sensitivity and warmth. I adored it.' ― Chloe Ashby

'I was so moved and humbled by this beautifully crafted novel ... captures the heart-gripping consequences of forbidden love' ― Mary Beth Keane