Bad Relations

(Hardback)

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Description

A rich, immersive novel about war, memory and loss, spanning three generations of one family BAD RELATIONS tells the story of a family fractured by history, geography and desire. On the battlefields of the Crimea, William Gale cradles the still-warm body of his brother. William's experience of war is to bring about a change in him that will reverberate through his family over the next two centuries. In the 1970s, William's English descendants invite Stephen, a distant Australian cousin, to stay in their bohemian house in Cornwall - but their golden summer entanglements will end in a dramatic fall from grace. Half a century later, a confrontation between the surviving members of the family culminates in a terrible reckoning. Cressida Connolly's magnificent new novel is a tale of a tragedy that seeps through generations, and a family forced to confront what they truly value in life.

Reviews

A ravishing novel from the great family saga-teller Cressida Connolly and an honourable tribute to the past * The Times, Best Books for the Summer *
Connolly's vivid characterisation, supple prose and striking imagery sweep you along, in an absorbing and affecting saga that uses one family's story to anatomise the different stages of grief * Daily Telegraph *
In recent British fiction I can think only of Tessa Hadley who rivals Connolly in exacting such intricate, compelling drama from close-knit families . . . I don't often wish a book were longer, but this one I did * Observer *
Masterful . . . a joy to see it garnering the ecstatic reviews it deserves -- Polly Samson, author of A Theatre for Dreamers
Moving [and] powerful . . . Connolly's vividly drawn characters grapple with trauma, unkindness and greed in an intriguing novel where past actions reverberate in the present * Daily Mirror *
Connolly, like Anne Tyler and Tessa Hadley, is a master of fluidly shifting perspectives, a sharply witty observer of social class, and a champion of imaginative empathy * Daily Mail *
Bad Relations is an amazing achievement and one of the most satisfying books you're likely to read this year * The Times *
Elegantly written, this subtle, satisfying, well-observed novel is a delight * Country and Town House, Books of 2022 *

Another fascinating, moving story from the author of After the Party

* Good Housekeeping *
This clever novel set across three timelines tells the story of a family haunted by tragedy. A skilfully written, powerful drama * BEST *
The plot is neat, tight and unexpected but the novel's deep satisfaction comes from Connolly's total immersion in historical atmosphere and profound understanding of human pain * Literary Review *

A gripping story of love, loss and tragic betrayal

* Country and Townhouse *
What if you could write a novel whose main plot points are a death in combat, a suicide and the breakdown of family relations, and make it beautiful What if you dared not to show the grimmest bits, but let them happen off-stage, while using elegant, beautiful prose to paint the spaces around them Cressida Connolly is that brave writer and Bad Relations is her latest masterpiece . . . ravishing * The Times *
Haunting * Observer *
The characters in Bad Relations are so brilliantly real, so wonderfully compelling at their best, and at their worst, that I can't get them out of my head. A wonderful novel -- Nina Stibbe
A writer who seems able to peer directly into the human heart -- John Preston
Uncanny, evocative, atmospheric * Sunday Times on 'After the Party' *
Connolly is a terrifically subtle writer... [she] slyly sweeps her readers into the period drama as tensions tauten between families and social classes * Daily Telegraph on 'After the Party' *
Profound and moving and completely original, with a storyline that is completely satisfying. It'll be one of those novels that stays in my mind forever... it's a work of art -- Craig Brown on 'After the Party'
I finished it in two days flat and I've never read anything quite like it -- Hilary Spurling on 'After the Party'
A wonderfully subtle and interesting account of the Mosley women, with a compelling voice -- Linda Grant on 'After the Party'
Fascinating, moving * Good Housekeeping *
A gripping story of love, loss and tragic betrayal * Country & Townhouse *
A compelling family saga * Sunday Times *

Author Bio

Cressida Connolly is a reviewer and journalist who has written for Vogue, the Telegraph, the Spectator, the Guardian and numerous other publications. Cressida is the author of four books- The Happiest Days, which won the MacMillan/PEN Award, The Rare and the Beautiful, My Former Heart and After the Party, which is currently shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and was a Waterstones Book of the Month. She lives in Worcestershire.