Ordinary People - A Novel

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction, Diana Evans' Ordinary People received international acclaim for its "forensic look at the pleasures and perils of marriage and parenting" (Sarah Waters, Guardian). In a crooked house in South London, Melissa feels she's defined solely by motherhood, while Michael mourns the thrill of their romance. In the suburbs, Stephanie's aspirations for bliss on the commuter belt compound Damian's itch for a bigger life. Longtime friends from the years when passion seemed permanent, the couples have stayed in touch, gathering for births and holidays. But as bonds fray, lines once clearly marked by wedding bands aren't so simply defined. Sweeping eloquently from the specific to the universal, Ordinary People is "a precise sketch of the British black middle class, with a daring fifth-act twist" (Katy Waldman, New Yorker).