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REVIEW: This Family by Kate Sawyer



Genre: Fiction | Domestic Drama

Release Date: Expected 11th May 2023

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton


Mary is getting remarried, in the house where she raised her children and stepchildren, where she watched her family grow up and then ultimately grow apart.

This family has been broken for some time, but today they will all be together for the first in time in years. Marys daughters, Phoebe, Rosie and Emma together in their childhood home despite the emotional and physical distance that has been pushing them further apart.

And on this sunny afternoon, the house will tell a story about this family. About the family they used to be, the one that is, and hopefully the one there still might be. 

"There could be great things coming for you just around the corner, or there could not. It could all be about to get worse. Life is jumbled up, out of order, random. The loose threads don't just get tied up in a bow."

Unless you're very lucky, we've all been in those moments where you'd love to be surrounded by your family but the broken and fraying branches in that family tree make it almost impossible. This authentic and touching story about a family in pieces offers a look into someone else's life for a moment and honest reflections on the profound impact that our born and chosen families have on our lives.

The story swiftly switched between that one beautiful day in Suffolk and the day of the past - it doesn't clearly state the changes but there's a definite tone and tense shift between the sections. It moves slowly, leisurely like a summer afternoon - there are no sudden twists or shocking reveals. In fact, not much happens at all but this actually adds to the very real charm of the story instead of taking away from it. All the secrets and emotions come to the surface naturally, quietly and genuinely, giving us time to take it in and let us exist in the moment and immersing us in a beautifully sun-kissed setting. This is the kind of the story that shows the loudest voice isn't always the most powerful, with this poetic, lyric and delicate prose that remains powerful and evocative through its silence. 

Every character is so beautifully real - made up of heartache, happiness, of people they've loved and hated. I found something in al of them that moved me and made me think of my own family, the beautiful and the dysfunctional parts. It was so simple to find a connection with them, and understand how the ties between have changed over time. I adored how the family in this story isn't just the typical - it's ex husbands, in-laws, friends, half siblings, relatives - all complex with their own beautifully meaningful connections.

A triumphant tale that reminds us about both the fragility, and the unwavering strength of love in all it's forms. 


⭐⭐⭐⭐


I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review. 


cw: pregnancy, references to addiction, loss of parents/children, suicide, sex, divorce, animal butchery.
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