The author of The Most Fun We Ever Had returns with a brilliantly observed family drama, in which a long marriage faces imminent derailment from events both past and present
‘I finished this wonderful book in floods of tears. What a joy to let a writer of such talent suffuse us with a life’s worth of humour and pain, affection and mess’ Jessie Burton
‘Witty and insightful. A powerful exploration of marriage, motherhood and self’ Bonnie Garmus
‘One of those big, grown-up existential novels about parenthood and marriage and teenagers and friendship and family life . . . Both easy reading and profound at the same time, all of it cleverly brushed with wit and humour’ Matt Haig
At fifty-seven, Julia Ames has found herself with an improbably lovely life. Despite her inclination towards self-sabotage, she has a husband she loves, two happy children and a quiet, contented existence in the suburbs.
But, out of the blue, things begin to change.
Her always well-behaved son is acting strangely. Her beloved but belligerent teenage daughter is about to depart for college.
And, in the local grocery store, Julia encounters a woman she hasn’t seen for twenty years – a woman whose friendship was once both her lifeline and, very nearly, her downfall.
All of a sudden, Julia’s peaceful family setup and her long, affection-filled marriage face imminent derailment from events both past and present.
The author of The Most Fun We Ever Had returns with another brilliantly observed family drama, which examines the complete and complicated trajectory of one woman’s life and asks what it takes to make – and to not break – a family.
‘We are treated to our protagonist’s complicated and revelatory inner life. I loved it’ Eva Wiseman, Observer
‘It was such a pleasure to bury myself in this book. It moved and surprised me’ Clare Chambers
‘Infidelity, dysfunction, secrets – this family novel delivers. Lombardo refashions domestic drama into something rich and strange, with echoes of Lorrie Moore’s sardonic humour and Jonathan Franzen’s dissection of class’ New York Times
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Reviews
One of those beautifully written, keenly observed novels where not that much happens - other than, you know, life itself - but also so much happens . . . Claire Lombardo has written a whole cast of characters so detailed, so specifically themselves, that you almost feel you could reach out and touch them
Infidelity, dysfunction, secrets - this family novel delivers . . . A 500-page, multigenerational examination of the ties that bind . . . Lombardo refashions domestic drama into something rich and strange, with echoes of Lorrie Moore's sardonic humour and Jonathan Franzen's dissection of class . . . Like Franzen's Marion Hildebrandt, or Faye, the narrator of Rachel Cusk's Outline trilogy, Lombardo gives us a woman whose inner life is knotted and revelatory . . . Same as It Ever Was is a brave, nuanced book, lulling us with its rhythms but taking risks when we glance away
This is such a wonderful book: unsentimental yet full of feeling, with such sharply-written, loving and generous characterisation. It has everything I adore in a novel. I finished it in floods of tears, and had to sit for a minute or two to pull myself together. It absolutely floored me. What a joy to let a writer of such talent suffuse us with a life's worth of humour and pain, affection and mess!
A gorgeous, strange domestic drama that flows between timelines as we approach the wedding of our protagonist Julia's adult son. We are treated to her complicated and revelatory inner life. I loved it
Same As It Ever Was is one of those big, grown-up existential novels about parenthood and marriage and teenagers and friendship and family life . . . But there is also something new to it, something that is both easy reading and profound at the same time, specifically on feelings of failure and abandonment, all of it cleverly brushed with wit and humour. A strong recommend
A big American novel to get totally lost in. Rich and compelling and funny and true
A family saga to save as a treat and devour when you should be doing something else, in which events past and present upset a long marriage
You need to read this novel. I never wanted it to end. Claire Lombardo is the new Anne Tyler, with teeth
Pitch-perfect. . . Lombardo is compulsively readable and consistently funny, and it's impossible to look away as Julia continues to self-sabotage. This domestic drama hits all the right notes
Witty and insightful. A powerful exploration of marriage, motherhood, and self
Sparkling. . . Readers will be torn between their instinct to race to the finish and their desire to savour every page
Lombardo's witty, sympathetic take on motherhood exudes the sharp scent of fermented apple juice and a full diaper . . . Lombardo has such a fine eye for the weft and warp of a family's fabric. She understands the chemistry of that special epoxy of irritation and affection that keeps a marriage glued together. One finishes Same As It Ever Was with the satisfaction of knowing this complicated woman well - and the poignant disappointment of having to say goodbye
Lombardo loves her characters, taking time to peel back each of their layers through the time-lapse structure of the novel and her rich descriptions. . . A sure bet for fans of Richard Russo and Jane Smiley
It was such a pleasure to bury myself in this book, a literary novel of family life which moved and surprised me. Claire Lombardo creates such interesting characters and predicaments and manipulates the revelations and emotional bombshells so expertly that you read on ravenously
Moving back and forth in time, Claire Lombardo's astute and often moving second novel charts the life of the breathtakingly self-sabotaging Julia Ames . . . Lombardo's psychological acuity and her compassion for her characters amply reward attention