Alex Hourston’s first novel In My House was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2013. One of her top ten unlikely friendships in literature, as shared at the Guardian:The Woman Upstairs by Claire MessudRead about the other entries on the list.
“How angry am I? You don’t want to know. Nobody wants to know about that,” opens Messud’s book, introducing us to Nora, single, 42 and tired of being good. She rewinds to tell us the story of her relationships with the Shahid family, each of them beautiful, brilliant and kind. We know from the outset that the ending won’t be pretty; the novel explores the ways in which both parties use each other, before landing on an unguessable twist.
--Marshal Zeringue