Ripeness

From 1960s Italy to present-day Ireland, Ripeness is a haunting, luminous tale of love, grief, and the lifelong search for where we truly belong, from Sarah Moss, bestselling author of Summerwater.

''Moss makes every moment count'' - The Sunday Times
''The achievement of a lifetime'' - Jessie Burton
''A book of lasting pleasures'' - Eleanor Catton
''A powerful and beautifully written story of family, friendship and identity'' - Guardian

Just out of school and teetering on the brink of adulthood, Edith is sent alone to rural Italy. Her task is simple: support her sister Lydia, a brilliant but brittle ballet dancer, through the final weeks of her pregnancy. Once the child is born, she is to make a phone call that will change all of their lives forever.

Decades later, Edith is living a contented life in Ireland, happily divorced and unexpectedly free. But when her friend Méabh receives a call from a stranger claiming to be her brother, everything shifts. As Méabh confronts a history she never knew she had, Edith is pulled back into the long-buried story of the baby she once held, and lost.

''Tender and rueful . . . Sarah Moss is a marvel of insight and eloquence'' - Emma Donoghue
''One of our greatest living writers'' - Katherine May, author of Wintering

Praise for Sarah Moss:
''Throws much contemporary writing into the shade'' - Hilary Mantel
‘One of our very best contemporary novelists’ - Independent
''A brilliant mind'' - The Guardian
''Moss has quietly been putting out some of the most interesting and carefully sculpted novels of recent years'' - Financial Times
''One of the finest contemporary writers working in Britain today'' - Stylist
''Is Sarah Moss the best British writer never nominated for the Booker?'' - Daily Mail
''Nothing escapes her sly humour and brilliant touch'' - Jessie Burton
''The most brilliant writer. She deserves to win all the prizes'' - Joanna Trollope