"This is a powerful book, written by a powerful woman, and narrated by three powerful sisters. A family once beloved and respected by their community, the Butlers have been cast out of their good standing and turned into hated pariahs—for good reason. Along with her husband, eldest sister Althea has committed a despicable crime, and her entire family is subjected to the public scrutiny the trial brings. The story goes back further than this one transgression, however, and explores the effects of childhood trauma that have trailed the siblings all their lives. Each sister deals with their past in her own way—eating disorders, debilitating panic attacks, cold detachment—but together represent the strength and endurance of family bonds. I'm already expecting this to be one of my favorite books of 2019."
Publisher Berkley Books
Publication Date 2019-02-19
Section New Hardcover - Fiction / All Staff Suggestions / Fiction Suggestions
Format Hardcover
ISBN 9781984802439
“If you enjoyed An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, read The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls...an absorbing commentary on love, family and forgiveness.”—The Washington Post
“A fast-paced, intriguing story...the novel’s real achievement is its uncommon perceptiveness on the origins and variations of addiction.”—The New York Times Book Review
One of the most anticipated reads of 2019 from Vogue, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Buzzfeed, Essence, Bustle, HelloGiggles and Cosmo!
“The Mothers meets An American Marriage” (HelloGiggles) in this dazzling debut novel about mothers and daughters, identity and family, and how the relationships that sustain you can also be the ones that consume you.
The Butler family has had their share of trials—as sisters Althea, Viola, and Lillian can attest—but nothing prepared them for the literal trial that will upend their lives.
Althea, the eldest sister and substitute matriarch, is a force to be reckoned with and her younger sisters have alternately appreciated and chafed at her strong will. They are as stunned as the rest of the small community when she and her husband, Proctor, are arrested, and in a heartbeat the family goes from one of the most respected in town to utter disgrace. The worst part is, not even her sisters are sure exactly what happened.
As Althea awaits her fate, Lillian and Viola must come together in the house they grew up in to care for their sister’s teenage daughters. What unfolds is a stunning portrait of the heart and core of an American family in a story that is as page-turning as it is important.
