2025 Booker Prize (shortlist)
A TLS, FINANCIAL TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Feels less like reading a novel and more like sitting in a car beside a dear friend . . . a profoundly moving experience.' ANN PATCHETT
'Deeply human ... a beautifully quiet and devastating book.' SARAH JESSICA PARKER
'Funny, wise and knowing.' CLARE CHAMBERS
When Tom's wife had an affair, he resolved to leave her once their children had grown up. Twelve years later, after driving his daughter to university, he remembers his pact and keeps driving West to visit friends, family and an old girlfriend.
But he also has secrets of his own - trouble at work and health issues - and sometimes running away is the hardest thing to do.
What readers are saying about The Rest of Our Lives:
'What a powerful tale; a really unexpected treasure.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Highly recommended if you want to read something real and something that will resonate.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'The best novel I've read this year.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'The perfect mix of funny, poignant and thought-provoking.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Deeply heartfelt and engrossing . . . I can't stop thinking about it!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'It packs an emotional punch . . . I know Tom will stay with me for a long time.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I loved it - almost a coming-of-old-age story.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Literary Fiction
'Feels less like reading a novel and more like sitting in a car beside a dear friend . . . a profoundly moving experience.' ANN PATCHETT
'Deeply human ... a beautifully quiet and devastating book.' SARAH JESSICA PARKER
'Funny, wise and knowing.' CLARE CHAMBERS
When Tom's wife had an affair, he resolved to leave her once their children had grown up. Twelve years later, after driving his daughter to university, he remembers his pact and keeps driving West to visit friends, family and an old girlfriend.
But he also has secrets of his own - trouble at work and health issues - and sometimes running away is the hardest thing to do.
What readers are saying about The Rest of Our Lives:
'What a powerful tale; a really unexpected treasure.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Highly recommended if you want to read something real and something that will resonate.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'The best novel I've read this year.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'The perfect mix of funny, poignant and thought-provoking.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Deeply heartfelt and engrossing . . . I can't stop thinking about it!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'It packs an emotional punch . . . I know Tom will stay with me for a long time.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I loved it - almost a coming-of-old-age story.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"A deft, agile, intricate portrait of family life and midlife crisis, razor-sharp insights delivered with a throwaway lightness of touch . . . A perfect contemporary take on the American road-trip novel." - Lucy Caldwell
"Completely involving and so funny, wise and knowing about midlife disappointment and the melancholy compromises of marriage. I hope it gets all the praise and readers it deserves." - Clare Chambers
"Pitch perfect in its first-hand delivery, its faithful depiction of the small failings and misfortunes of a life, The Rest of Our Lives resonates gloriously and sometimes momentously with our own." - Jane Feaver
"What an excellent novel about the rich, accumulated layers of marriage. The fissures and precious moments, the embedded resentments and tenderness in the relationship of Tom and Amy, it all forms such a real and complex portrait." - Sarah Hall
"Completely involving and so funny, wise and knowing about midlife disappointment and the melancholy compromises of marriage. I hope it gets all the praise and readers it deserves." - Clare Chambers
"Pitch perfect in its first-hand delivery, its faithful depiction of the small failings and misfortunes of a life, The Rest of Our Lives resonates gloriously and sometimes momentously with our own." - Jane Feaver
"What an excellent novel about the rich, accumulated layers of marriage. The fissures and precious moments, the embedded resentments and tenderness in the relationship of Tom and Amy, it all forms such a real and complex portrait." - Sarah Hall
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Used availability for Benjamin Markovits's The Rest of Our Lives