The Weekend

PRAISE FOR CHARLOTTE WOOD 'An unflinching eye and audacious imagination' Guardian 'Savage: think Atwood in the outback' Paula Hawkins, on The Natural Way of Things ' Wood's writing is direct and spare, yet capable of bursting with unexpected beauty' Economist 'An unforgettable reading experience' Liane Moriarty, on The Natural Way of Things 'Wood has the ability to evoke matters of life and death without straining for effect' Sydney Morning Herald 'Charlotte Wood's writing crackles with vivid precision' NPR 'A consummate observer of the human condition' Australian Book Review 'Vibrant, intelligent, utterly compelling work, achingly real and seductively woven' Adelaide Advertiser

I was also engaged by The Weekend (Orion, £14.99) by Charlotte Wood . It was refreshing to encounter a novel that so profoundly sympathises with women on the forbidding cusp of being classifi ed as "elderly".

Vorwort
Three women in their 70s - bruised by life, discarded by society, bursting with anger - reunite for one last, life-changing weekend.

Autorentext
Charlotte Wood is the author of seven novels and three books of non-fiction. Her novel Stone Yard Devotional was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize and was selected by the New York Times as one of their 10 best books of 2025. Earlier novels include The Natural Way of Things, which won the 2016 Stella Prize and was joint winner of the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction, and The Weekend, which was an international bestseller. Her features and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Guardian, Literary Hub and Sydney Morning Herald, among others. Charlotte lives in Sydney with her husband.

Klappentext

'So great I am struggling to find the words to do it justice' Marian Keyes
A Book of the Year for The Times, Observer, Independent and Good Housekeeping
'A rare pleasure' Sunday Times

'Riveting' Elizabeth Day

'A perfect, funny, insightful, novel about women, friendship, and ageing' Nina Stibbe

'A lovely, lively, intelligent, funny book' Tessa Hadley

'Glorious . . . Charlotte Wood joins the ranks of writers such as Nora Ephron, Penelope Lively and Elizabeth Strout' Guardian

Sylvie, Jude, Wendy and Adele have been friends for decades, but when Sylvie dies, the ground shifts dangerously for the remaining three.

These women couldn't be more different: Jude, a once-famous restaurateur with a long-standing affair with a married man; Wendy, an acclaimed feminist intellectual; Adele, a former star of the stage, now practically homeless.

Struggling to recall exactly why they've remained close all these years, the grieving women gather for one last weekend at Sylvie's old beach house. But fraying tempers, an elderly dog, unwelcome guests and too much wine collide in a storm that threatens to sweep away their friendship for good.