A Perfectly Good Family

Following the success of We Need to Talk About Kevin this is a stunning examination of inheritance, literal and psychological: what we take from our parents, what we discard, and what we are stuck with, like it or not. After having escaped for years to London, Corlis McCrea returns to the grand Reconstruction mansion where she grew up in North Carolina, now willed to the three grown children following the death of their parents. All three want the house. Fiscal necessity dictates that two must buy a third out. Just as she was torn as a girl, the sister must choose between her decent younger brother and the renegade eldest—the black sheep who covets his legacy in order to destroy it. The adult siblings re-enact the deep enmities and loyalties of childhood, as each bids for a bigger slice of the pie. The bestselling author, Lionel Shriver, once again proves her literary prowess with A Perfectly Good Family, a top fiction that delves into the complexities of inheritance and familial bonds. The award-winning writer, long-listed for numerous prizes, explores the deep-seated enmities and loyalties of childhood, painting a vivid picture of a family torn apart by greed and necessity. For fans of Elizabeth Strout (Tell Me Everything), Margaret Atwood (The Blind Assassin), Barbara Kingsolver (Demon Copperhead), Ian Mcewan (Lessons), and Anne Tyler (Redhead by the Side of the Road).