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The Paper Palace: The No.1 New York Times Bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Bookclub Pick Paperback – 28 April 2022
Miranda Cowley Heller (Author) See search results for this author |
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THE TOP TEN BESTSELLER
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE 2022
'A deeply emotional love story that follows one day in the life of Elle Bishop as she navigates the unravelling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle' REESE WITHERSPOON
'Glorious and gorgeous. I was absolutely immersed and gripped and I'm devastated to have finished it' MARIAN KEYES
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A PAGE-TURNING SUMMERTIME READ FOR FANS OF WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING AND LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE
On a perfect August morning, Elle Bishop heads out for a swim in the pond below 'The Paper Palace' - her family's holiday home in Cape Cod. As she dives beneath the water she relives the passionate encounter she had the night before, against the side of the house that knows all her darkest secrets, while her husband and mother chatted to their guests inside...
So begins a story that unfolds over twenty-four hours and fifty years, as Elle's shocking betrayal leads her to a life-changing decision.
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'Here is a love triangle that keeps you turning the pages' Rachel Joyce
'Utterly addictive' Rosamund Lupton
'Dry, sharp and with devastating depths plumbed so elegantly' Pandora Sykes
'Smart, atmospheric and seriously juicy' Stylist
'Earthy, intoxicating, shimmering' Sunday Times
Readers have been gripped by THE PAPER PALACE too:
***** 'I devoured this book in a couple of days'
***** 'I fell in love with the characters'
***** 'A heart-rending love story filled with so many complications, you won't want to finish it'
***** 'It pulled me in from the first page'
***** 'If you loved Where the Crawdads Sing then you will love this book as well'
- Print length400 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPenguin
- Publication date28 April 2022
- Dimensions12.9 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm
- ISBN-100241990459
- ISBN-13978-0241990452
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Review
It's glorious and gorgeous. I was absolutely immersed and gripped and I'm devastated to have finished it -- Marian Keyes
It's been ages since I was so absorbed in a contemporary novel. I loved it -- Nick Hornby
In rich and sensuous prose, Cowley Heller, cracks open the human heart and exposes her character's choices: the paths not taken and the devastating consequences. I smelled the old cabins and the backwoods, felt the pond water lapping around my ankles, experienced the love and loss of family. A perceptive and powerful story which will stay with me for a long time -- Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground
Tightly woven and immediate, The Paper Palace takes us deep into a vivid summer landscape, a family, and a private, longstanding love story, and holds us there from start to finish -- Meg Wolitzer, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife and The Female Persuasion
I can't think of a more brilliant debut than The Paper Palace. Enticing, assured and multi-layered, it introduces a major new voice in American fiction . . . A marvel -- Cressida Connolly
Absolutely phenomenal novel - dazzling writing and utterly addictive. Read it -- Rosamund Lupton
It felt as if I read The Paper Palace in one go. It was completely immersive, and shocking, and utterly alive. I loved it -- Nina Stibbe
This accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart ― Daily Mirror
The Paper Palace turned out to be the very page-turner I needed. If you want to learn something about love over a long time - how it can hurt, how it can soar - read this book -- Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes
A family drama, a forbidden love story, a childhood tragedy, this is a stunning literary debut that will leave you reeling ― i
A family drama, a forbidden love story, a childhood tragedy, The Paper Palace is a stunning literary debut that will eat you up and leave you reeling - you won't want it to end ― Independent
Miranda Cowley Heller has written a magnificent page-turner, a love story that shimmers with desire, intelligence, and humor. Lush and gorgeously written, The Paper Palace is as intoxicating as a summer night by the sea. I didn't want it to end -- Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest
Set in the physical and psychic landscape of Cape Cod, The Paper Palace is a fever dream of a novel, luminous with love and shot through with humor and heartbreak. It is a book that explores the indelibility of childhood, what it means to be shaped by place, and all that is unpredictable about the human heart. I couldn't put it down -- Adrienne Brodeur, author of Wild Game
Beautifully written, richly compelling, The Paper Palace is as dark and uncompromising as it is tender and lyrical. Here is a love triangle that keeps you turning the pages, a vivid evocation of place, and an exploration of the one of the most unsettling of secrets -- Rachel Joyce, author of Miss Benson's Beetle
The writing is full of rich detail, evoking the New England landscape . . . this is an absorbing family saga packed with intrigue and complicated characters that transports you to Cape Cod. I can't wait for the adaptation ― Evening Standard
Mesmerising . . . A promising debut from a talent to watch ― Good Housekeeping
A deliciously lyrical novel . . . weaving between the dangerous yet excitable now and the years of ungodly traumas passed, this masterful tale of childhood love will wash over you like the refreshing, cold waters of The Paper Palace's nearby lake ― BUZZ magazine
[Cowley Heller] brings to fiction an understanding of how to layer storylines, as well as an assured feel for dialogue and visual description . . . a skilful portrait ― The Oldie, Book of the Month
The Paper Palace paints a vivid picture of family secrets and tensions, against the backdrop of a sun-soaked summer ― Take a Break
Miranda Cowley Heller's debut The Paper Palace . . . finds Elle on the point of leaving her near-perfect family life for the visceral thrill of Jonas, green-eyed soul mate of her youthful vacations. With its atmospheric setting and rich backstory, the denouement is set to be an August talking point and a mini-series is already slated.' ― Country and Townhouse
A stirring and sensual story ― Woman's Weekly
This accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart
― Daily MirrorA richly detailed family saga that nods to tales by Johns Cheever and Updike . . . this immersive novel makes for a lushly satisfying read ― The Times
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Product details
- Publisher : Penguin; 1st edition (28 April 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0241990459
- ISBN-13 : 978-0241990452
- Dimensions : 12.9 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 9 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer reviews:
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Too many characters, too much flitting back & forth in time (every section like this lasted a couple of pages that was all then you're back in another time). Then one long chunk that oddly went on too long to set up the great awfulness that has caused all the trouble in this book.
No one was worth caring about not even the main character (despite everything that happened to her), apart from the older sister Anna who is refreshingly herself, and Jonas who doesn't get nearly enough space in the book and was the reason I thought I'd love this book. He's kept far too much in the background, I suppose like a siren call but really the author squandered what might have been a USP for this book. The husband Peter was nauseatingly a stereotype of Hugh Grant - an American's idea of what a posh Brit is like - and actually rude & dismissive. Why stay married to this man? The sex scenes were well described.
The ending was a terrible zero. I get that it was supposed to be mysterious & ambivalent it just felt like an under-cooked roast chicken.
A very episodic read, emotionally & intellectually unsatisfying it was a jumble of good ideas badly executed.
And then there's all the gushing blurbs from authors who are clearly pals - this author is well connected.
Not worth the money, could have been so much better.
Ever since she was a child, "The Paper Palace" had been a place where Elle and her family would spend their holidays. Now married and with children of her own, it is still a place she visits with her family and friends.
Following a rash decision made in the heat of the moment, the story jumps between the past and present, revealing generations of complicated relationships and some questionable, heartbreaking decisions...
OK, so I went in with no expectations and knowing next to nothing about the plot, but I never imagined how invested I'd become in the story. This is compelling, domestic drama at its absolute finest. 👌🏻
One thing that stood out to me was how certain traumatic events can happen to a member of one generation and indirectly affect another. Additionally, without going into too much detail, there were some prime examples of how (in my opinion) parents can fail at protecting their children.
Miranda has nailed everything here from the absolutely stunning imagery to a captivating story. Her writing is fantastic and I just cannot fault it. Put it this way, I loved this book so much I've already ordered a physical copy.
Granted there's some pretty heavy topics I wasn't entirely prepared for, so do be aware of the trigger warnings:
*Some triggers to be aware of in this book are: child abuse, sexual assault, infidelity and non-consensual incest.
💭: Initially I thought this book would solely focus on Elle's inner turmoil, the choice between her devoted husband and the man she has loved since she was a child; which didn't appeal to me. The very short snappy sentences irritated me and the constant switching of timelines and numerous characters confused me a little and I found it hard to get into. That was until I got passed the first section and into the secrets of Elle's past. This book is not lighthearted as I first thought. The topics are disturbing, the characters are unlikeable and the ending unclear.

By Gemma on 24 August 2021
💭: Initially I thought this book would solely focus on Elle's inner turmoil, the choice between her devoted husband and the man she has loved since she was a child; which didn't appeal to me. The very short snappy sentences irritated me and the constant switching of timelines and numerous characters confused me a little and I found it hard to get into. That was until I got passed the first section and into the secrets of Elle's past. This book is not lighthearted as I first thought. The topics are disturbing, the characters are unlikeable and the ending unclear.

In the first 45 pages the author mentioned casual adultery, sexual abuse of children, maternal neglect and animal cruelty with no more sensitivity than I would put into a shopping list. By all means write about these topics but treat them seriously.
The author follows a fashionable trend of writing in the present tense. The idea is that it gives your writing a sense of urgency but as the beginning is deathly slow it's not well used in this book. She also follows a popular style by zig zagging across the timelines but she doesn't spend enough time in each period to make it work. Her writing isn't very vivid either; there wasn't much to distinguish the children going swimming at Camp from the grandmother swimming in the lake.
I always try to give a book a serious try but this one defeated me and I returned it for a refund.
There is no doubt as to the meaning of the end of the book, there are no two ways of interpretation, and you do not need to re-read the beginning to make it any clearer (although once I read the last page, I wanted to start again, as I did not want it to end).
The plot does jump, but never in a way that makes you wonder where you are. Each time jump is meticulously crafted to shed light on what happens in the future or has occured in the past (usually explained in the chapter following).
It is a memoir, a love story, a murder - this book has it all, and the writing is so crystal clear if not downright poetic, you feel you are in the narrators head, understanding every move (whether you agree with her actions or not).
It is beautiful, unputdownable, a future classic of American realism.