Judgment Day - by Penelope Lively (Paperback)

About the Book

"Judgment Day" takes readers into the life of Clare Paling, who has just moved with her family to Laddenham, a seemingly drowsy village enlivened by sideshows of adultery and gossip. With flawless precision, Lively brings the village and its inhabitants to life as an unpardonable death reminds them all that the world is a very uncertain place.

Book Synopsis

This "beautiful and brilliant novel" (Auberon Waugh) by a Booker Prize winner follows an agnostic woman's relationship with a religious village's people and its past.

Judgment Daytakes us into the life of CLare Paling, who has just moved with her family to Laddenham, a sleepy village enlivened only by sideshows of adultery and gossip. An avowed agnostic, Clare is nonetheless caught up in the restoration of the church, even inciting the villagers to put on a pageant that recreates the church's dark history.

With flawless precision, Penelope Lively brings the village and its inhabitants to life as an unpardonable death reminds them all that the world is a very uncertain place.

"[Lively is] blessed with the gift of being able to render matters of great import with a breath, a barely audible sigh, a touch. The result is wondreful writing."--The New York Times Book Reivew

About the Author

PENELOPE LIVELY is the author of more than twenty books, including Moon Tiger, which won the Booker Prize; The Road to Lichfield and According to Mark, which were short-listed for the Booker Prize; A Stitch in Time, which won the Whitbread Award; and most recently The Photograph, which received critical acclaim and was a Today Show Book Club selection.