Other People’s Lives

‘A brilliantly observed, funny, poignant and utterly real portrait of a mid-life woman and her family. I loved it.’ Claire Fuller‘An elegant and beautifully-observed novel by one of our finest contemporary writers’ Louise Kennedy‘I found myself taking screenshots to send to friends because MacMahon nails it over and over again’ Claire Kilroy—‘Marriage was the biggest decision of their lives and yet they made it so lightly it was barely a decision at all’As schoolgirls, Justine and her best friend Iseult dreamed of a future that revolved around marriage. They saw it as a happy ending, never imagining for a moment that the reality would be more complicated.

Coming up to fifty, they’re still best friends. Justine has been married to Iseult’s brother for twenty-five years and lives in her childhood home. Iseult has spent her adult life abroad, her marriage clearly unhappy for reasons she won’t discuss.

When Justine’s daughter suddenly announces her engagement, Justine is thrown into planning a big family wedding. Afraid that her daughter is making a mistake, she finds herself questioning the choices she and Iseult made decades earlier. This crisis of confidence tests Justine in new and unexpected ways.