A hugely emotive and quietly exhilarating novel about family, marriage and those moments which can define our lives.
What's left when your kids grow up and leave home?
When Tom Layward's wife had an affair he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest daughter turned eighteen. Twelve years later, while driving her to Pittsburgh to start university, he remembers his pact.
He is also on the run from his own health issues, and the fact that he's been put on leave at work after students complained about the politics of his law class - something he hasn't yet told his wife.
So, after dropping Miriam off, he keeps driving, with the vague plan of visiting various people from his past - an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son - on route, maybe, to his father's grave in California.
Readers adored The Rest of Our Lives:
'What a powerful tale; a really unexpected treasure.' 'Highly recommended if you want to read something real and something that will resonate.' 'The best novel I've read this year. Highly recommended.' 'I absolutely loved it - the perfect mix of funny, poignant and thought-provoking.'
'A perfect contemporary take on the American road-trip novel.' Lucy Caldwell
'Pitch perfect in its faithful depiction of the small failings and misfortunes of a life.' Jane Feaver
'Completely involving and so funny, wise and knowing.' Clare Chambers
Author
About Benjamin Markovits
Benjamin Markovits grew up in Texas, London and Berlin. He is the author of eleven novels, including Either Side of Winter, You Don't Have To Live Like This, and Christmas in Austin. He has published essays, stories, poetry and reviews on subjects ranging from the Romantics to American sports in the Guardian, Granta, The Paris Review and The New York Times, among others. In 2013 Granta selected him as one of their Best of Young British Novelists and in 2015 he won the Eccles British Library Writer in Residence Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. He lives in London and teaches creative writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.
