The Homemade God

About this book

Family is everything, even when it falls apart. Discover the escapist new Sunday Times bestselling novel from the multi-million-copy bestselling author of Miss Benson’s Beetle and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA WATERSTONES PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR 2026'The perfect holiday read.'-The Times‘A must-read.’ Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry‘I didn't think it was possible to love Rachel Joyce's writing more, then I read The Homemade God…gorgeous.’ - Jennie Godfrey, bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things'Rachel Joyce is a masterful storyteller.' - Sarah Winman, bestselling author of Still Life---------------------There is a heatwave across Europe. Goose and his three sisters gather at the family's house by Lake Orta in Piedmont, Italy. Their father, a famous artist, has recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his masterpiece. Now he is dead and there is no sign of a painting. Although the siblings have always been close, as they search for answers over that summer, the things they learn - about themselves, their father and their new stepmother - will drive them apart before they can come to any kind of understanding of what their father's legacy truly is. Extraordinarily compelling, at heart this is a novel about sibling relationships and those hairline cracks that can appear within a family: what happens when they splinter, and what it would take to mend them. Praise for The Homemade God: ‘The most moving, beautiful and brilliant book I’ve read in a long time.’ - Claire Pooley, author of How to Age Disgracefully‘A triumph of insight and empathy!’ - Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures'Sharp, absorbing, emotionally intelligent.' - Guardian'Deeply satisfying.' – Observer’A highly compelling mystery and a tender, brilliantly drawn exploration of sibling dynamics. I couldn't put it down.' - India Knight, author of Darling'Joyce is a fearless explorer of emotional landscape.' –Sunday Times'If only there were more novelists like Rachel Joyce.' –Telegraph‘Joyce writes with her trademark vitality and … I couldn’t put it down.’ - Esther Freud, author of Hideous Kinky and Mr Mac and Me'Lyrical, shrewd and, ultimately, as indecently satisfying as a four course Italian lunch. My life is a little emptier now it's over.' - Patrick Gale, author of A Place Called Winter'Sparkling and addictive … Rachel Joyce is so incredibly good and wise on families and siblings. I couldn’t love it more.' - Harriet Evans, author of The Garden of Lost and Found