Cousins

'A wonderful book. Salley Vickers spins a spellbinding account of a family in distress' Elizabeth StroutWill Tye, a teenage boy from a middle-class, suburban family, develops his first intense crush on a girl. But this familiar love story has a dark twist - the girl is his own cousin Cecelia. News of the infatuation spreads through generations of the complex and eccentric Tye family, leaving ripples of resentment and disquiet. When Will experiences a life-changing accident, Cecelia is the most closely affected by his suffering - and her own life is forever changed by how she will respond to it.Told through the eyes of three women close to Will, his sister, his grandmother and his aunt, Cousins takes us from the outbreak of the Second World War to the present day, exploring the recurrence of tragedy, the nature of transgression, and the limits of morality and love.

“Beautifully and brilliantly controlled. A triumph”

Utterly compelling... Cousins is a remarkable book about the strange tact and terrors of family life and the histories that haunt it -- Adam Phillips
Vickers has a formidable knack for laying open the human heart... a layered family drama Sunday Times
Each distinct voice in this complex pattern of relationships is presented with deep empathy and clarity, so that you feel a real three-dimensional quality in the characters. The most painful ethical dilemmas are laid out with compassion and without manipulation. A serious, mature book that is also compellingly enjoyable -- Rowan Williams
A wonderful book. Salley Vickers spins a spellbinding account of a family in distress -- Elizabeth Strout
A story of secrets, lies and history is elegantly handled... She lays bare the inner workings of one family, possibly every family, with an often disconcerting clarity The Times
If you're a fan of Marilynne Robinson (the Pulitzer-prize winning author of Gilead), you'll love this...a dark and gritty read Sunday Times
No one can dig down into the shrouded recesses of the human heart quite as forensically as Vickers Sunday Times
This is a highly charged novel you'll find hard to put down...The novel raises important issues about motherhood and family connections, and examines the survivor's guilt felt by many of the characters that helps to drive the painful resolution Sunday Express
Vickers ponders undercurrents that swirl down the ages...Vickers commitment to the realism required by fictional memoir...a fascinating exploration of the often equivocal and always cryptic nature of family love Guardian
A psychologically acute case study Mail on Sunday
A story of a family rocked by tragedy Daily Mail
One of our best women writers...Cousins is a towering tale of three generations of the Tye family, spanning 70 years Reader's Digest
Salley Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand. She's a presence worth cherishing -- Philip Pullman on 'The Cleaner of Chartres'
Absorbing, subtle and utterly joyous Sunday Times on 'The Cleaner of Chartres'
A magical and at times sinister story about love, loss, secrets and forgiveness Scotland on Sunday on 'The Cleaner of Chartres'
John Julius Norwich on 'Miss Garnet's Angel'

Salley Vickers is the author of many acclaimed novels including the best-selling Miss Garnet's Angel, Mr Golightly's Holiday, The Other Side of You and The Cleaner of Chartres (Viking 2012) and two short story collections, the latest The Boy Who Could See Death (Viking 2015). She has worked as a cleaner, a dancer, a teacher of children with special needs, a university lecturer and a psychoanalyst. She now writes and lectures full time. or @SalleyVickers.

'Vickers has a formidable knack for laying open the human heart.' Sunday Times Will Tye and his cousin Cele are kindred spirits who have grown up together. But their very closeness keeps them at a troubled distance until the night that Will recklessly embarks on a misadventure with devastating consequences. It's a tragedy that engulfs three generations of the Tye family, laying bare dangerous secrets that stretch as far back as the Second World War. It also opens up new wounds, leaving the Tye family with agonising questions about retribution for the days, months and years to come. Yet for Will and Cele it cements a bond like no other - a bond that will only be finally broken by an act of exceptional courage and self sacrifice, one which imperils them both but leads at last to a tentative resolution. 'She brings a scalpel-sharp but compassionate scrutiny to her characters' minds and motivations. Thoughtful, measured but also a celebration of loyalty and sacrifice' Observer 'Vickers lays bare the inner workings of one family, possibly every family, with an often disconcerting clarity' The Times 'A fascinating exploration of the often equivocal and always cryptic nature of family love' Guardian

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