I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I can’t stop thinking about it. This definitely deserves a reread so I can truly appreciate every detail. I will say, the one downside was that it was difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the story because each chapter is a new/different character and a different year…so it was often like I was starting anew and then forgetting what I had read in chapters before.

The first half of the book was slow, but I kept the faith that it would come together, and it did. The timelines and characters all tie together in such a natural, beautiful way to help you see how Daniel and Claudette’s lives (together and apart) were shaped.

I just love, love, love Maggie O’Farrell’s writing! Her characters are honest, hopeful, and flawed (but still so lovable). Daniel’s sincerity, struggles, and ultimate fight to not give up on Claudette. Claudette’s strength, her stubbornness vs her soft side. I enjoyed getting to know them, their children, their family members, and everyone who touched their lives. This story is full of love, grief, addiction, passion, moments of belonging, and moments of exile.

“All along I’d thought my life had been one thing but it now seems it might have been something else entirely.”