That Old Cape Magic

Jan 19, 2026 3:33 AM

Author:Richard Russo

That Old Cape Magic

Jack and Joy Griffin are back on Cape Cod - where they spent their hope-filled honeymoon - for a wedding. Cracks are begining to show in Jack's peaceful family life and thirty-four year marriage. He's driving round with his father's ashes in an urn in the boot of his car, haunted by memories of bittersweet family holidays spent at the Cape, while his acerbic mother is very much alive and always on his mobile. He's spent a lifetime trying to be happier than his parents, but has he succeeded?

A year later, at a second wedding, Jack has a second urn in the car, and his life is starting to unravel.

Reviews

The remarkable thing about this novel is its resemblance to real life. Russo creates a family that is utterly recognisable and unique... superb

—— The Times

Russo meditates on memory, ageing, inheritance, marriage, desire and the meaning of happiness... Written with humour and assurance

—— Guardian

Russo brings a familiar story to life with wit, elegance, deftness and empathy

—— Sunday Times

A novel for people who are terrified of becoming their parents... A dyspeptic romantic comedy... [And] an utterly charming novel. If you always cry at weddings, you'll cry at this - and laugh, too

—— Washington Post

Russo has a knack for capturing the most intimate details in the lives of ordinary people

—— Chicago Tribune

Thoroughly satisfying

—— Time Out

Nobody tops Russo for nailing the self-aggrandising sourness of a certain class of American intelligentsia. Hollywood agents should be on standby

—— Alfred Hickling , Guardian

Russo's well-scripted story of mid-life crisis breezily captures the moment when everything was predictable and yet somehow you failed to see it coming

—— Emma Hagestadt , THe Independent

Beautiful, clean prose...[an] absorbing story

—— Literary Review

A clever novel that's timeless in its tension-building storytelling

—— Good Housekeeping

A chilling tale of a farming family

—— Fanny Blake , Woman and Home

Taut novella

—— James Urquhart , Financial Times

Misery memoirs may no longer be the flavour of the month, but according to Susan Hill's new novel, their consequences can be far reaching. In search of a quick buck, middle-aged journalist Frank Prime pens a bestseller detailing his childhood on a remote North Country farm.

—— Emma Hagestadt , The Independent

Not a word is wasted in this chilling novella

—— Natalie Sanderson , The Times

A thought-provoking story

—— Katie Owen , Sunday Telegraph

This novel is short, beautifully crafted and gripping

—— The Sunday Times Magazine

A work of great creepiness and subtle power. It will linger 'orribly in the mind.

—— Nicholas Lezard , The Guardian

Expertly structured, her beautifully written prose as haunting as the best ghost story

—— Sophie Missing , Observer

From ghost stories to crime thrillers to children's novels, Susan Hill is a writer of striking versatility. 'The Beacon' is a literary novel - done to spectacular effect

—— Catherine Humble , The Telegraph Review

A marvellous book

—— Winnipeg Free Press

A perfectly pitched novel that captures its characters and their dilemmas.

—— Woman and Home

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