An ambitious new novel of family life past and present from the author of the Costa Book Awards shortlisted The Stranding.

Mary has raised her daughters in this house. Watched them play and fight and grow up in this house. Today it is the house where she will get married.

The wedding celebrations have brought the fractured family together for the first time in years:
There is Phoebe and her husband Michael, children in tow. The young and sensitive Rosie, with her new partner. Irene, Mary's ex-mother-in-law. And Emma. There, despite all that has gone before.

Set over the course of an English summer's day and punctuated with memories from the past forty years of love and betrayal, hope and joy, heartbreak and grief, this is the story of a family. Told by a chorus of characters, it is an exploration of the intimacies and transgressions that bring us to where we are, the changes that are brought about by time, and what, despite everything, stays the same.

An ambitious new novel of family life past and present from the author of the Costa Book Awards shortlisted The Stranding. 'A smart yet tender page-turner. Kate Sawyer makes the reader feel as though they have a seat at the family table.' ERIN KELLY 'A tender yet vivid novel in both form and voice, its threads as bright as the tapestry of life it depicts. I lived, laughed and ached for these characters throughout. A superb accomplishment.' WIZ WHARTON 'Feels like the ultimate eavesdropping exercise, it's satisfying fresh and expertly structured. The penultimate chapter will make you shriek. I loved it.' ALEXANDRA HEMINSLEY 'Subtle, intelligent, and so deeply moving ... people who just feel so achingly real. Extraordinary.' A.J. WEST 'Lyrical, literary and luminous ... buy it and treat yourself to writing at its finest.' BETHANY CLIFT 'Absorbing and unexpected. It took some turns that I really didn't see coming, but which nonetheless felt plausible and satisfying.' REBECCA WAIT 'Perfection. Funny and powerful, deeply moving, hugely atmospheric.' LIZ HYDER 'Intriguing, gripping, moving - this deserves to be HUGE.' MARIAN KEYES 'Messy, complicated joyful characters and relationships that sneak into your heart and make you care ... a bittersweet, deftly woven, captivating portrayal of a mother and daughters.' JENNIFER SAINT 'Beautiful and compelling ... the most complex of dynamics are handled with the lightest, deftest touch... masterful.' LAURA KAY 'Every nuance of mother and daughters and sister relationships is vividly explored. Beautifully written, it expertly weaves the past with the present, building the tension, so you have to turn the pages.' GEORGINA MOORE 'Kate Sawyer is an extraordinary, original writer... An immersive and absorbing read - I could not put this book down.' ALIYA ALI AFZAL 'Unfolds like a great piece of theatre... The more I read, the harder it became to put down.' BOBBY PALMER 'Captures the ebb and flow of family dynamics in Chekhovian detail... makes you want to call out, "wait for me!" as the end approaches and the characters depart.' SUSANNAH WISE 'Fans of The Stranding, rest assured--This Family is every bit as good and then some. An absolute treat from start to finish.' NATASHA CALDER 'The vibrant, complex members of This Family are still alive and well in my imagination, weeks after I finished reading it. The rich, precise prose drew me into their world and held me there from beginning to end.' JO BROWNING WROE It is my dearest wish, that after so long apart, I am able to bring this family together for my wedding day. This house. This family. Mary has raised a family in this house. Watched her children play and laugh and bicker in this house. Today she is getting married in this house, with all her family in attendance. The wedding celebrations have brought fractured family together for the first time in years: there's Phoebe and her husband Michael, children in tow. The young and sensitive Rosie, with her new partner. Irene, Mary's ex-mother-in-law. Even Emma, Mary's eldest, is back for the wedding - despite being at odds with everyone else. Set over the course of an English summer's day but punctuated with memories from the past forty years of love and loss, hope and joy, heartbreak and grief, this is the story of a family. Told by a chorus of characters, it is an exploration of the small moments that bring us to where we are, the changes that are brought about by time, and what, despite everything, stays the same. 'A vivid, family saga, rich in character and detail.' ERICKA WALLER 'A masterfully composed, perfectly observed family chronicle that feels utterly real in its evocations of grief, anger and love.' EMMA HUGHES 'Brilliantly plotted, deftly written and oozing with sophisticated style... It's what everyone will be reading this summer.' ANNIE GARTHWAITE 'A compelling portrait of modern family politics... A must read for anybody ( everybody!) who's loved and despaired over their nearest and dearest. I loved it.' AINGEALA FLANNERY 'Extraordinary. So elegant, compelling and beautifully written... a vivid and insightful exploration of the complexities of sisterhood, adulthood, desire and grief.' DAISY BUCHANAN 'This Family will reaffirm your faith in all the ways that love can be true.' BUKI PAPILLON 'A sensitive, lyrical family saga... This will be a huge hit.' REBECCA PERT 'A gorgeous novel, peppered with the nostalgic joy and tension of one messy family.' POLLY CROSBY '... demands to be experienced... A glorious, sweeping family saga from one of the most exciting novelists of recent times.' JESS MOOR 'The intimacy of a family with all its complications is a quietly devastating read. Loved it.' JULIE OWEN MOYLAN 'A beautiful novel, quiet and profound' KAREN ANGELICO

WINNER OF THE FICTION PRIZE AT THE EAST ANGLIAN BOOK AWARDS 'A terrific debut. Brave, unexpected... transfixing and captivating... full of hope, resilience and love.' THE SUNDAY TIMES "Holds the big within the small, the intimate within the epic" - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies 'A captivating read' THE SUN 'GORGEOUS and original and captivating' - Marian Keyes, international bestselling author of Grown Ups 'A story that is powerfully familiar and yet utterly original.' - Afua Hirsch 'A captivating read... (a) beautiful, surprising novel' FABULOUS 'A novel that has stayed with me for weeks afterwards . . . Perceptive and unflinching' - Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist 'A quiet, piercing contemplation on what really matters when it comes to the end of the world. Strange and beautiful' - Abigail Dean, author of Girl A 'Beautiful and harrowing but also optimistic and extremely moving . . . a truly arresting depiction of an unlikely relationship' - Clover Stroud, author of The Wild Other 'I didn't want this book to end. It blew me away, and moved me beyond belief' - Bryony Gordon, author of Mad Girl EVERY ENDING IS A NEW BEGINNING. Ruth is ignoring the news. Like most people, she has relationship problems, job stress, friends and family who need her. Ruth has a life. But the news is about to catch up with Ruth, and her problems are going to be swept away...along with the rest of the world. Only when the comforts and complications of her old existence are gone, does Ruth finally realise how she might be able to live to the fullest.

AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4'S BOOK AT BEDTIME WINNER OF THE FICTION PRIZE AT THE EAST ANGLIAN BOOK AWARDS 2021 'A poignant and page turning apocalyptic tale of the foibles, strengths and hopes of humanity. I was gripped, both terrified and emotional throughout and I loved every minute of it.' SIMON SAVIDGE 'An immersive end of the world story full of hope and imagination' THE GUARDIAN 'A terrific debut. Brave, unexpected... transfixing and captivating... full of hope, resilience and love' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'Holds the big within the small, the intimate within the epic' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies 'A captivating read' THE SUN 'GORGEOUS and original and captivating' - Marian Keyes, international bestselling author of Grown Ups 'A captivating read... (a) beautiful, surprising novel' FABULOUS 'A novel that has stayed with me for weeks afterwards . . . Perceptive and unflinching' - Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist 'A quiet, piercing contemplation on what really matters when it comes to the end of the world. Strange and beautiful' - Abigail Dean, author of Girl A 'Beautiful and harrowing but also optimistic and extremely moving . . . a truly arresting depiction of an unlikely relationship' - Clover Stroud, author of The Wild Other 'I didn't want this book to end. It blew me away, and moved me beyond belief' - Bryony Gordon, author of Mad Girl HER WORLD FELL TO PIECES. FROM THE BONES SHE BUILT A NEW LIFE. Ruth lives in the heart of the city. Working, drinking, falling in love: the rhythm of her vivid and complicated life is set against a background hum of darkening news reports from which she deliberately turns away. When a new romance becomes claustrophobic, Ruth chooses to leave behind the failing relationship, but also her beloved friends and family, and travels to the other side of the world in pursuit of her dream life working with whales in New Zealand. But when Ruth arrives, the news cycle she has been ignoring for so long is now the new reality. Far from home and with no real hope of survival, she finds herself climbing into the mouth of a beached whale alongside a stranger. When she emerges, it is to a landscape that bears no relation to the world they knew before. When all has been razed to the ground, what does it mean to build a life? The Stranding is a story about the hope that can remain even when the world is changed beyond recognition.