Anna Hope

Hannah, Cate and Lissa are young, vibrant and inseparable. Living on the edge of a common in East London, their shared world is ablaze with art and activism, romance and revelry - and the promise of everything to come. They are electric. They are the best of friends. Ten years on, they are not where they hoped to be. Amidst flailing careers and faltering marriages, each hungers for what the others have. And each wrestles with the same question: what does it take to lead a meaningful life? The most razor-sharp and heartbreaking novel of the year, EXPECTATION is a novel about finding your way: as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a rebel.

In this sharply observed novel set in and around London, three college friends, now in their thirties, must come to terms with the gap between the lives they imagined for themselves and reality in the face of marriage, fertility struggles, and loss.In her first year of motherhood after an unplanned pregnancy, Cate is constantly exhausted, spiraling into self-doubt and postpartum anxiety. Her husband Sam seems oblivious, but maybe she'd prefer he remain in the dark. How can she admit the unthinkable--that she misses her freedom?In contrast, Hannah continues to endure round after round of unsuccessful IVF treatments. The process is taking its toll on her physically and emotionally--and, she worries, creating distance between her and her husband Nathan. She is godmother to Cate's son, but every time they get together, it's a trigger.Beautiful and unattached, Lissa is re-evaluating what it means to be an actress in her thirties. While she fiercely resists convention, she's also lonely. A chance encounter in the British Library with Nathan has her wondering if she missed her best chance at love when she introduced him to Hannah.As each woman longs for what the others seemingly possess, will their bonds of friendship sustain them in this liminal phase of their lives--or will their envy and desire tear them apart?

In this sharply observed novel set in and around London, three college friends, now in their thirties, must come to terms with the gap between the lives they imagined for themselves and reality in the face of marriage, fertility struggles, and loss.In her first year of motherhood after an unplanned pregnancy, Cate is constantly exhausted, spiraling into self-doubt and postpartum anxiety. Her husband Sam seems oblivious, but maybe she'd prefer he remain in the dark. How can she admit the unthinkable--that she misses her freedom?In contrast, Hannah continues to endure round after round of unsuccessful IVF treatments. The process is taking its toll on her physically and emotionally--and, she worries, creating distance between her and her husband Nathan. She is godmother to Cate's son, but every time they get together, it's a trigger.Beautiful and unattached, Lissa is re-evaluating what it means to be an actress in her thirties. While she fiercely resists convention, she's also lonely. A chance encounter in the British Library with Nathan has her wondering if she missed her best chance at love when she introduced him to Hannah.As each woman longs for what the others seemingly possess, will their bonds of friendship sustain them in this liminal phase of their lives--or will their envy and desire tear them apart?

Paperback Original--Also Available as a Simultaneous Hardcover EditionA Skimm Reads Pick"The female friendships here are ones we'll all recognize, and in seeing myself in each of these women--their good moments and their bad--I felt implicated in their stories, and in this book. It's an outstanding novel."--Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, YesIn this sharply observed novel set in and around London, three college friends, now in their thirties, must come to terms with the gap between the lives they imagined for themselves and reality in the face of marriage, fertility struggles, and loss.In her first year of motherhood after an unplanned pregnancy, Cate is constantly exhausted, spiraling into self-doubt and postpartum anxiety. Her husband Sam seems oblivious, but maybe she'd prefer he remain in the dark. How can she admit the unthinkable--that she misses her freedom?In contrast, Hannah continues to endure round after round of unsuccessful IVF treatments. The process is taking its toll on her physically and emotionally--and, she worries, creating distance between her and her husband Nathan. She is godmother to Cate's son, but every time they get together, it's a trigger.Beautiful and unattached, Lissa is re-evaluating what it means to be an actress in her thirties. While she fiercely resists convention, she's lonely. A chance encounter in the British Library with Nathan has her wondering if she missed her best chance at love when she introduced him to Hannah.As each woman longs for what the others seemingly possess, will their bonds of friendship sustain them in this liminal phase of their lives--or will their envy and desire tear them apart?

Da denne boka kom ut i England ble den en umiddelbar snakkis, forfatteren ble sammenliknet med Sally Rooney, og både kritikere og lesere trykket den til sitt bryst. Det er en bok som angår oss alle. Hanna, Cate og Lissa er bestevenner og samboere. De er unge, livlige og uatskillelige. De deler en verden av kunst og kreativitet, romantikk og rivalisering, og alt ligger foran dem. De er fulle av forventning. Ti år senere har ikke livet blitt slik de håpet. Mislykkede karrierer og ekteskap som er i ferd med å gå i oppløsning gjør at alle tre ønsker seg noe de andre har. Og alle kjemper med det samme spørsmål: Hvorfor ble det slik? Hva betyr det å leve et meningsfullt liv? Forventning handler om vennskap, om hva et vennskap tåler, om å finne sin egen vei i livet. Om å være mor, datter, partner, opprører, feminist, kvinne, venn. Den handler om den hårfine balansen mellom det man forventet og sånn det ble.

1911: Inside an asylum at the edge of the Yorkshire moors, where men and women are kept apart by high walls and barred windows, there is a ballroom vast and beautiful. For one bright evening every week they come together and dance. When John and Ella meet It is a dance that will change two lives forever.

Remembrance Day 1920: A wartime secret connects three women's lives: Hettie whose wounded brother won't speak; Evelyn who still grieves for her lost lover; and Ada, who has never received an official letter about her son's death, and is still waiting for him to come home. Can these three women ever let go of the past?