Happy Friday! Today I have a review of Late in the Day, publishing on January 15, 2019 via Harper Books.
My Thoughts:
Two couples have been the best of friends since their twenties. For over thirty years, it’s been Zach and Lydia and Alex and Christine through it all.
One night Christine and Alex receive a call from Lydia. Zach has unexpectedly passed away.
Interestingly, all the friends agree that Zach was the best of the group. They put him on a posthumous pedestal and grief swallows their days.
Lydia is having such a difficult time, Alex and Christine have her move in with them. But this closeness in their grief is not a good thing. Their friendships are now in jeopardy.
Late in the Day is all about the characters, how they experience loss, and highlighting the complex dynamics of close relationships. The writing is beautiful and so easy to read. I also found it insightful, sensitive, and brilliant. Hadley exposed these characters’ innermost feelings, which are not always pretty or expected.
Tessa Hadley has written an emotional tale of friendship and love, heartbreak and grief, with this intensely and intentionally drawn character study, relatable, very much human, characters, and an intricately woven dynamic of intimate relationships in adulthood. I loved this one!
Thanks to Harper Books for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis:
The lives of two close-knit couples are irrevocably changed by an untimely death in the latest from Tessa Hadley, the acclaimed novelist and short story master who “recruits admirers with each book” (Hilary Mantel).
Alexandr and Christine and Zachary and Lydia have been friends since they first met in their twenties. Thirty years later, Alex and Christine are spending a leisurely summer’s evening at home when they receive a call from a distraught Lydia: she is at the hospital. Zach is dead.
In the wake of this profound loss, the three friends find themselves unmoored; all agree that Zach, with his generous, grounded spirit, was the irreplaceable one they couldn’t afford to lose. Inconsolable, Lydia moves in with Alex and Christine. But instead of loss bringing them closer, the three of them find over the following months that it warps their relationships, as old entanglements and grievances rise from the past, and love and sorrow give way to anger and bitterness.
Late in the Day explores the complex webs at the center of our most intimate relationships, to expose how, beneath the seemingly dependable arrangements we make for our lives, lie infinite alternate configurations. Ingeniously moving between past and present and through the intricacies of her characters’ thoughts and interactions, Tessa Hadley once again “crystallizes the atmosphere of ordinary life in prose somehow miraculous and natural” (Washington Post).
Have you read Late in the Day, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR
I’ve not heard of the title or the author. Your review is lovely, Jennifer.
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Thank you, Jonetta! This was a powerful and understated read- the best of both worlds.
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This sounds so emotional, Jen. I have to add this one. Loved your review and pics. Cool bookmark! I love that quote. ♥️
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Thanks so much, favorite M! I really loved this book. It was quiet but powerful at the same time. I had that bookmark custom made! The business is on etsy, and it’s called Book Tickets by Ashley Marie. That quote is my mantra this year. ♥️
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I’m going to have to check out the shop. Love that! 😍♥️
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Here’s the link to the stop, and the custom bookmarks are only $5. ♥️ https://www.etsy.com/shop/BookticketsByAM
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Thanks, Jen! ♥️
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Seems like a very emotional book. New Book and author never heard🤔😍
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It was emotional and beautifully-written, Shalini. I enjoyed it! ♥️ 🔥
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Not heard of this book or its author, but it does sound quite interesting.
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I enjoyed this quiet story, Marialyce. Beautiful storytelling.
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What an interesting premise for a book!!! It sounds like a wonderful story. Great review, Jennifer!
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Thanks, Mack! It was a lovely, quiet, emotional read. I loved it!
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Wonderful review! Sounds like an emotional read.
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Thank you, Darinda. It definitely was, and I love those.
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Wonderful read Jen! I’m going to go and see if it’s on Netgalley because I want to really read this one! Happy Friday!😄💜❄
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Thanks, Sus! It’s on EW because it’s Harper and they are so kind and generous! I’d love for you to read it too!
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Just requested! Thanks Jen!💜
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This sounds so wonderful, Jen! I’d not heard of it or the author before, but I’m adding it to my TBR. You’re review is lovely! Have a fantastic weekend! xoxo ♥
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Thanks, Steph! I could see you loving this one. I really enjoyed this. Happy weekend to you, too! 💕
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You’re welcome! I can see me loving it too! I hope you had a great weekend…at least we had no snow! ❤
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Ohhh I hadn’t heard of this one and it looks great and I love the cover! Thanks for bringing out to my attention ^^
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Thanks, Annie! It’s such a beautiful book- inside and out!
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Gorgeous picture. Thanks for recommending this one. I cannot wait to read this family saga. Happy 😊 Friday.
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Thank you, Virginia! It was a lovely read! 💗
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Oh my goodness… I love Tessa Hadley’s writing and had no idea that she had a new book coming out this year! Your lovely review of it is enough to convince me I need to go pre-order this one right now. I’m so glad I saw your post today 🙂
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Thanks, Hayley, and it makes me so happy you are a fan of hers! I have another book here from her to read and cannot wait now after this one. I hope you are able to get this one soon and enjoy it!
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This sounds like a tear-jerker! 😢
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It was definitely an emotional read, LP! ♥️
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Well I think the cover is beautiful 🍨💓💗
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I think so, too, Priyasha! ♥️
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This sounds like a great, if emotional read!
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Thanks, Chrissi! I love an emotional story.
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This sounds like a beautiful story that would have me reaching for the tissues often.
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Yes, it’s definitely an emotional read, Suzanne.
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As ever, a lovely review – this isn’t an author I know, but I regularly see glowing reports on her books – I need to get hold of one of her books at some stage.
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She’s a gem, Sarah. I’m definitely going to read more of her books.
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I’ll have to track her down, when my TBR isn’t so dangerously high…
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Sounds great Jenni! I’ve read a short story by Tessa Hadley but never a novel I don’t think so I’m definitely intrigued. 🤔
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Thanks, Beth! I was spellbound with her writing!
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Wonderful review, Jen. This book has been on several lists for 2019, so it’s already on my TBR. Good to know it should stay there. 😉
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Thanks, Myndi! I am so happy to hear this one is on several lists- it definitely deserves to be. Such a beautifully written and emotional book. ♥️
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After reading a few of the comments here, I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who is yet to hear of this author. Thanks for the great review, she’s officially on my radar 🙂
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Thanks, Didi! I really enjoyed the beautiful writing and all the emotion. ♥️
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Yes, it sounds very emotional! I can’t wait to dive in 🙂
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Beautiful review, Jennifer. I really like the themes that you have highlighted. This is definitely a book that I’d love to read. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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Thanks, Diana! I’m so happy it appeals to you, too. It’s a lovely, emotional read.
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It sounds intriguing. Thanks for reviewing it.
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Thanks, Cynthia! I enjoyed the book!
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I got stuck on old entanglements and warped relationship? I don’t want to ask a question that would require a potential spoiler but I can’t help but think the comfort between the 3 of the turns into something clandestine? Hope not
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I can’t say, Shell, but the boundaries of friendship are definitely tested. It’s hard to describe why Iiked this so much, but I really did, and I think it comes back to the writing.
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