{"product_id":"alternate-side","title":"Anna Quindlen: Alternate Side [2019] paperback","description":"For \u003cb\u003efans of Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler\u003c\/b\u003e comes a brilliantly provocative novel from the \u003cb\u003eRichard and Judy Book Club\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eNumber One bestselling\u003c\/b\u003e author Anna Quindlen.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e '\u003cb\u003eMesmerizing\u003c\/b\u003e. Quindlen makes her characters so richly alive, so believable, that it's impossible not to feel every doubt and dream they harbour . . . \u003cb\u003eOverwhelmingly moving\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Anna Quindlen follows her highly-praised novel \u003ci\u003eMiller's Valley \u003c\/i\u003e- 'reads like a companion to Elizabeth Strout's \u003ci\u003eOlive Kitteridge\u003c\/i\u003e', Elisabeth Egan - with a \u003cb\u003ecaptivating\u003c\/b\u003e novel about \u003cb\u003emoney, class and self-discovery\u003c\/b\u003e set in the heart of \u003cb\u003eNew York\u003c\/b\u003e where the tensions in a tight-knit neighbourhood - and a seemingly happy marriage - are exposed by an unexpected act of violence.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e There are days when Nora Nolan thinks that she and her husband, Charlie, lead a charmed life - except when there's a crisis at work, a leak in the roof at home or a problem with their twins at college. And why not? Nora has never stopped loving New York, and their street has become a safe harbour, a tranquil village amid the urban craziness. The residents watch one another's children grow up. They trade gossip and gripes, and they manoeuvre for the ultimate status symbol: a spot in the block's small parking lot.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Then, into their secure, privileged midst comes an unexpected act of violence and their enviable neighbourhood turns into a potent symbol of a divided city.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e This is a novel of domesticity, of the jarring cacophony of city life and of daily routine and conversation and expectation being suddenly, awkwardly disrupted. It is about the change of dynamics wrought within a family when children leave home and the fading of love within an outwardly settled marriage.   \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Utterly absorbing and impeccably observed, \u003ci\u003eAlternate Side\u003c\/i\u003e explores, too, what it means to be a mother, a wife and a woman at a moment of reckoning.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 'Qualities and \u003cb\u003eshades of love\u003c\/b\u003e are this writer's strong suit, and she has the unusual talent for writing about them with so much \u003cb\u003etruth and heart\u003c\/b\u003e that one is carried away on a tidal wave of involvement and concern'  \u003cb\u003eElizabeth Jane Howard\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 'I'm a big fan of US author Anna Quindlen's sharp writing. Her latest novel, \u003ci\u003eAlternate Side\u003c\/i\u003e, is a clear-eyed look at a long marriage, written with \u003cb\u003ewit \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003ewarmth\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGood Housekeeping\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'A book about being a mother, a wife and a woman at a moment of reckoning, this is an \u003cb\u003eacutely observed\u003c\/b\u003e story' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eStylist Books \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Middle age proves treacherous ground in this \u003cb\u003esmart comedy of manners\u003c\/b\u003e... \u003cb\u003eInsightful\u003c\/b\u003e, acerbic and \u003cb\u003epleasingly tinged with melancholy\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Quindlen, Anna","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":44515556720930,"sku":"9781471174438","price":11.25,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"Very Good","offer_id":53986855878995,"sku":"XV81471174438","price":6.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0616\/4001\/6057\/files\/quindlen-anna-anna-quindlen-alternate-side-2019-paperback-1244038498.jpg?v=1781268757","url":"https:\/\/theirishbookshop.live\/products\/alternate-side","provider":"Chapters Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}