Magnetism - by Ruth Figgest (Paperback)

About the Book

Debut novel from six-times Bridport Prize finalist: a darkly comic and sharply observed mother-daughter relationship as it unfolds episodically over 50 years.

Book Synopsis

Mother and daughter Caroline and Erica are best of friends and worst of enemies. Set in the American mid- and south-west, their story unfolds over more than 50 years against a backdrop of sweeping social change. Feisty and argumentative, they roll with the punches, surviving car crashes, awkward family gatherings, relationship disasters--and plastic surgery. Sharply observed and darkly comic, Magnetism by Ruth Figgest notches a riveting new path through this most fundamental of family ties.

Review Quotes

'Ruth Figgest demonstrates how to make a story about more than one thing at once. Her astute young heroine faces the prospect of plastic surgery to render her looks more pleasing to her lovingly fault-finding mother but simultaneously arrives at a new understanding of the state of her parents' marriage and the ambivalent purpose she has to serve within it.' - Patrick Gale

'Sharp and evocative... a sheer pleasure to witness the humour, joy, anger and pain as the two women push and pull against this closest of bonds.' - Sussex Life

'This is an expertly spun story about a mother and daughter apparently locked into a dysfunctional relationship...underpinned with a pleasingly black humour. A very clever and satisfying piece of storytelling which ends with the hope of liberation.' - Susan Osborne, A life in books

'Amongst the many literary portrayals of fraught mother-daughter relationships, this stood out for the quality of the writing, skilful use of reverse chronology and a realism and honesty which made it a tough but powerful read. I'd like to see far more books like this get published.' - The Literary Sofa: Spring Spotlight

'Ruth Figgest has as firm and careful a grasp on the delicate texture of relationships as any writer since Henry James. This painful--and often, disconcertingly, funny--exploration of a mother and daughter's growing apart, growing up, growing old, growing together, peels back layers of time and accretions of expectation to bare a connection harder than love and more complex than distance. It is a compelling novel.' - Claudia Gould

'Ruth Figgest has a deep understanding of the human condition in all its many guises and depicts it with razor-sharp accuracy. Her characters are emotionally vulnerable, self-sabotaging, and prone to exhilaratingly outrageous behaviour, but they somehow never lose our sympathy. This is psychologically acute, perceptive and witty writing that can make you laugh out loud and wince with discomfort at the same time.' - Umi Sinha

'A thoroughly compelling read: pointed yet subtle, it skewers middle-class American foibles with biting humour and authentic compassion. Figgest's voices are so real and tangible they leap off the page into your ears and into your bones.' - Martin Spinelli