Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

‘Exquisite’ The New York Times

‘A tale of grief and memory awash with dark humour and wit’ Spectator
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“Up there,” she says, “I’m just another little old lady. But down here, at the pool, I’m myself.”

For the people who swim there each day, the local pool is a haven of unexpected kinship and private solace. For Alice, her daily laps have become the ritual that gives her life meaning, even though she may not remember the combination to her locker or where she put her towel.

But one day, a crack appears deep beneath the surface of the water, and then another, and then another. The pool must close for repairs, and with that Alice is plunged into dislocation and chaos.

Away from the steady routines of her swimming, she is engulfed by difficult memories of her own past. And as her sense of home, and of herself, slip further out of her grasp, her daughter must navigate the newly fractured landscape of their relationship.

From the internationally bestselling author of The Buddha in the Attic comes a novel about memory and loss, mothers and daughters, the stories that make up a life, and what happens when they start to unravel.
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‘I’m in awe of how this beautiful, graceful novel can hold so much grief and loss and love in its pages: a literary gem.’ Nicci Gerrard

‘An unforgettable novel about mothers and daughters by a spellbinding talent’ Daily Mail