Other Peoples Lives

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.

From the Women’s Prize longlisted author of Nothing But Blue Sky and The Home Scar, Other People’s Lives is a captivating story about the decisions we make in a heartbeat, and their lifelong consequences.