The Alternatives

February 12, 2024
A 39-year-old geology professor disappears from her Galway campus, prompting her three sisters to reunite and track her down, in the intelligent if uneven latest from Hughes (The Wild Laughter). When Olwen Flattery was 18, her parents died in an accidental fall from a cliff, and she became legal guardian of her three younger sisters: Maeve, a celebrity chef in London whose recipes Hughes presents as simultaneously silly and delectable (a “fancy fish taco” comprises “red mullet with anchovy-rosemary sauce on a cabbage leaf”); Nell, an adjunct philosophy professor at a Connecticut college; and Rhona, a hard-headed Dublin political scientist. At times, Hughes reaches for dark comedy, as when she describes how both parents ended up at the bottom of the cliff (“the heavier one reached out to grasp her—reached too far; grasped too well”). Elsewhere, she strikes an earnest note as the women reunite in Ireland and reckon with Olwen’s history of alcoholism. The inconsistent tone can be jarring, but Hughes shines when weaving the dense intellectual material of the three academic sisters’ work into their dialogue (“Just don’t start on about the mind-body separateness of a pint of Guinness,” Maeve jokes to Nell). This one perplexes and stimulates in equal measure. Agent: Bill Clegg, Clegg Agency.

July 1, 2024

The Flattery sisters were forced to grow up quickly after the deaths of their parents. Now in their 30s, single, and all with PhDs, they are each attempting to leave a meaningful mark on the world. When the oldest sister, Olwen, a geology professor all too familiar with Earth's changing climate, disappears, her sisters travel to the Irish countryside to find her. Sheltering together, they must face personal and global truths. Hughes's (The Wild Laughter) new novel boldly explores the complexities of sisterhood and the weight of past trauma and grief. The audio is adeptly narrated by a group of six narrators, with strong performances by Irish actors Sarah Bolger, Aisling Franciosi, and Dominique McElligott, who voice sisters Rhona, Maeve, and Nell, respectively, and author Hughes, who narrates the part of Olwen. The cast gives depth and heart to the four sisters as they navigate their adult relationships, grief, and dreams, not only for themselves but for the world too. Their sensitive narration works in tandem with Hughes's luminous writing, creating a lyrical listening experience. VERDICT A haunting and timely novel, deftly exploring the intersection of family dynamics, environmental politics, and a love of the land.--Elyssa Everling

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