The Comfort of Others

'Reading it on the train I had to fight not to sob in public . . . Langdale is a wonderful writer' (Daily Mail on Away from You) Perfect for readers of Adele Parks and Maggie O'Farrell.

Minnie and her sister Clara, spinsters both, live in a dilapidated country house in the middle of a housing estate, built when their father sold off the family's land. Now in their seventies, their days follow a well-established routine: long gone are the garden parties, the tennis lessons and their suffocatingly strict mother. Gone, too, is any mention of what happened when Minnie was sixteen, and the secret the family buried in the grounds of their estate.

Directly opposite them lives Max, an 11-year-old whose life with his mum has changed beyond recognition since her new boyfriend arrived. Cast aside, he takes solace in Minnie's careful routine, observed through his bedroom window.

Over the course of the summer, both begin to tell their stories: Max through a Dictaphone, Minnie through a diary. As their tales intertwine, ghosts are put to rest and challenges faced, in a story that is as dark as it is uplifting.

“Reading it on the train I had to fight not to sob in public... Langdale is a wonderful writer - Daily Mail on AWAY FROM YOUI am a mess of tears on the train. Can't remember the last time a book broke my heart so much... - Lucy Dillon, author of A HUNDRED PIECES OF ME on AWAY FROM YOULangdale's psychological intelligence informs every angle of a thoroughly contemporary tragedy. - The Times on AWAY FROM YOU”

Reading it on the train I had to fight not to sob in public... Langdale is a wonderful writer - Daily Mail on AWAY FROM YOU

I am a mess of tears on the train. Can't remember the last time a book broke my heart so much... - Lucy Dillon, author of A HUNDRED PIECES OF ME on AWAY FROM YOU

Langdale's psychological intelligence informs every angle of a thoroughly contemporary tragedy. - The Times on AWAY FROM YOU

Kay Langdale is the author of six novels: The Comfort of Others, Away From You, Choose Me, Her Giant Octopus Moment, What the Heart Knows (Rowohlt, Germany) and Redemption (Transita; published as If Not Love by Thomas Dunne Books.) Visit Kay's website at Follow her on Twitter: @KayLangdale.

Praise for AWAY FROM YOU: 'Reading it on the train I had to fight not to sob in public... Langdale is a wonderful writer.' - Daily Mail 'I am a mess of tears on the train. Can't remember the last time a book broke my heart so much...' Lucy Dillon, author of A HUNDRED PIECES OF ME 'Langdale's psychological intelligence informs every angle of a thoroughly contemporary tragedy.' - The Times

'Reading it on the train I had to fight not to sob in public . . . Langdale is a wonderful writer' ( Daily Mail on Away from You) Perfect for readers of Adele Parks and Maggie O'Farrell. Minnie and her sister Clara, spinsters both, live in a dilapidated country house in the middle of a housing estate, built when their father sold off the family's land. Now in their seventies, their days follow a well-established routine: long gone are the garden parties, the tennis lessons and their suffocatingly strict mother. Gone, too, is any mention of what happened when Minnie was sixteen, and the secret the family buried in the grounds of their estate.Directly opposite them lives Max, an 11-year-old whose life with his mum has changed beyond recognition since her new boyfriend arrived. Cast aside, he takes solace in Minnie's careful routine, observed through his bedroom window.Over the course of the summer, both begin to tell their stories: Max through a Dictaphone, Minnie through a diary. As their tales intertwine, ghosts are put to rest and challenges faced, in a story that is as dark as it is uplifting.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.