Author:Miranda Cowley Heller
One life changing decision: your husband or your one true love?
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On a perfect August morning, Elle Bishop heads out for a swim in the pond below 'The Paper Palace' - her family's holiday home in Cape Cod. As she dives beneath the water she relives the passionate encounter she had the night before, against the side of the house that knows all her darkest secrets, while her husband and mother chatted to their guests inside...
So begins a story that unfolds over twenty-four hours and fifty years, as Elle's shocking betrayal leads her to a life-changing decision.
A PAGE-TURNING SUMMER READ FOR FANS OF WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING AND LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE
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Readers have been gripped by THE PAPER PALACE:
***** 'I devoured this book in a couple of days'
***** 'I fell in love with the characters'
***** 'A heart-rending love story filled with so many complications'
Sunday Times Bestseller, September 2022
A deeply emotional love story that follows one day in the life of Elle Bishop as she navigates the unravelling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle
—— Reese WitherspoonIt's glorious and gorgeous. I was absolutely immersed and gripped and I'm devastated to have finished it
—— Marian KeyesThis accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart
—— Daily MirrorA family drama, a forbidden love story, a childhood tragedy, The Paper Palace is a stunning literary debut that will eat you up and leave you reeling - you won't want it to end
—— IndependentIt's been ages since I was so absorbed in a contemporary novel. I loved it
—— Nick HornbyIn rich and sensuous prose, Cowley Heller, cracks open the human heart and exposes her character's choices: the paths not taken and the devastating consequences. I smelled the old cabins and the backwoods, felt the pond water lapping around my ankles, experienced the love and loss of family. A perceptive and powerful story which will stay with me for a long time
—— Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled GroundTightly woven and immediate, The Paper Palace takes us deep into a vivid summer landscape, a family, and a private, longstanding love story, and holds us there from start to finish
—— Meg Wolitzer, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife and The Female PersuasionI can't think of a more brilliant debut than The Paper Palace. Enticing, assured and multi-layered, it introduces a major new voice in American fiction . . . A marvel
—— Cressida ConnollyAbsolutely phenomenal novel - dazzling writing and utterly addictive. Read it
—— Rosamund LuptonIt felt as if I read The Paper Palace in one go. It was completely immersive, and shocking, and utterly alive. I loved it
—— Nina StibbeThe Paper Palace turned out to be the very page-turner I needed. If you want to learn something about love over a long time - how it can hurt, how it can soar - read this book
—— Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, YesA family drama, a forbidden love story, a childhood tragedy, this is a stunning literary debut that will leave you reeling
—— iA beautifully constructed, wonderfully intelligent and beguiling novel, rich with a multitude of pleasures
—— William BoydMiranda Cowley Heller has written a magnificent page-turner, a love story that shimmers with desire, intelligence, and humor. Lush and gorgeously written, The Paper Palace is as intoxicating as a summer night by the sea. I didn't want it to end
—— Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The NestSet in the physical and psychic landscape of Cape Cod, The Paper Palace is a fever dream of a novel, luminous with love and shot through with humor and heartbreak. It is a book that explores the indelibility of childhood, what it means to be shaped by place, and all that is unpredictable about the human heart. I couldn't put it down
—— Adrienne Brodeur, author of Wild GameBeautifully written, richly compelling, The Paper Palace is as dark and uncompromising as it is tender and lyrical. Here is a love triangle that keeps you turning the pages, a vivid evocation of place, and an exploration of the one of the most unsettling of secrets
—— Rachel Joyce, author of Miss Benson's BeetleThe writing is full of rich detail, evoking the New England landscape . . . this is an absorbing family saga packed with intrigue and complicated characters that transports you to Cape Cod. I can't wait for the adaptation
—— Evening StandardMesmerising . . . A promising debut from a talent to watch
—— Good HousekeepingA deliciously lyrical novel . . . weaving between the dangerous yet excitable now and the years of ungodly traumas passed, this masterful tale of childhood love will wash over you like the refreshing, cold waters of The Paper Palace's nearby lake
—— BUZZ magazine[Cowley Heller] brings to fiction an understanding of how to layer storylines, as well as an assured feel for dialogue and visual description . . . a skilful portrait
—— The Oldie, Book of the MonthThe Paper Palace paints a vivid picture of family secrets and tensions, against the backdrop of a sun-soaked summer
—— Take A BreakMiranda Cowley Heller's debut The Paper Palace . . . finds Elle on the point of leaving her near-perfect family life for the visceral thrill of Jonas, green-eyed soul mate of her youthful vacations. With its atmospheric setting and rich backstory, the denouement is set to be an August talking point and a mini-series is already slated.'
—— Country and TownhouseA stirring and sensual story
—— Woman's WeeklyThis accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart
A richly detailed family saga that nods to tales by Johns Cheever and Updike . . . this immersive novel makes for a lushly satisfying read
—— The TimesA feel-good read, with great characters to care about, it takes current issues seriously but adds plenty of humour
—— Choice[It leaves] the reader with that fuzzy feeling you want from a feel-good book. Fans of her previous hit, The Authenticity Project, will not be disappointed
—— Woman's WeeklyA feel-good tale about the power of real-life connections
—— SunYou can always rely on Pooley to deliver not just wonderful, lively characters but a story that leaves you feeling uplifted and hopeful
—— CultureFlyBatuman has taken what made The Idiot so brilliant, distilled it, and created an equally brilliant new work. Either/Or is unbridled joy.
—— Big IssueFunny... Unforgettable... Batuman is particularly good on sex and sexual politics... The star feature is the narration... garrulous, rambunctious... full of baroque riffs and digressions.
—— Claire Lowdown , SpectatorA fresh voice is a rare thing, and Elif Batuman is one such.
—— Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*Either/Or is extremely funny and delightfully ludic, as it probes the very act of reading from the point of view of confused university student Selin.
—— Anakana Schofield, Irish Times, Books of the Year 2022I was desperately looking forward to Elif Batuman's Either/Or, and it more than lived up to it.
—— Samir Chadha , White Review, *Books of the Year*Re-encountering Selin...felt like being reunited with an old friend.
—— Helen Charman , White Review, *Books of the Year*Hilarious.
—— Alice Hattrick , White Review, *Books of the Year*I greatly enjoyed the comic zing of Elif Batuman's delightful Either/Or
—— Megan Hunter , White Review, *Books of the Year*Witty, intelligent and funny... [Selin's] inner monologue is addictive enough to read a thousand more pages of, and I can only cross my fingers that this isn't the last instalment of the series.
—— CrackJust as funny and self-aware and clever as The Idiot.
—— Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , White Review, *Books of the Year*Funny, wry and insightful
—— The Times, *Summer Reads of 2023*Laugh out loud…hilarious and thoughtful
—— Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*