When the World Was Steady - Softcover

Messud, Claire

3.14

992 ratings by Goodreads

9780307279514: When the World Was Steady

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307279510 ISBN 13: 9780307279514

Publisher: Vintage, 2007

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In this highly acclaimed novel by the author of The Emperor’s Children, life isn’t all Emmy and Virginia Simpson might have hoped. When Emmy’s marriage to an Australian man ends, she flees her home in Sydney for the tropical paradise of Bali to “find herself”—only to become embroiled with an eclectic crew of international misfits and smugglers. Her sister Virginia, meanwhile, has never wandered far outside of London. Prim and pious, Virginia is struggling to find meaning in her life and her aging mother thinks a visit to the Isle of Skye is just what she needs. On these two islands halfway around the world, the middle-aged sisters confront their lives and their destinies with unexpected consequences.

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Review:

In a debut novel of remarkable breadth and intimate insight, Claire Messud tells the story of two middle-aged sisters and the divergent life paths chosen by each. On Bali and Skye, two islands as far apart as geography allows, the sisters reassess their place in the world and gingerly find the new bearings that will allow them to renegotiate the circumstances of their lives with newfound acceptance and flexibility. Nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award.

From the Back Cover:

In the words of Melody Simpson, their mother, Emmy was born with thick skin and Virginia with no skin at all. It is on Bali and Skye, two islands as far apart as geography allows, that the sisters independently reassess their place in the world and gingerly find the new bearings that will allow each to renegotiate the circumstances of their lives with newfound acceptance and flexibility.

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