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Sophisticated, intelligent, impossible to put down, Maggie O’Farrell’s beguiling novels—After You’d Gone, winner of a Betty Trask Award; The Distance Between Us, winner of a Somerset Maugham Award; The Hand That First Held Mine, winner of the Costa Novel Award; and her unforgettable bestseller The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox—blend richly textured psychological drama with page-turning suspense. Instructions for a Heatwave finds her at the top of her game, with a novel about a family crisis set during the legendary British heatwave of 1976.
Gretta Riordan wakes on a stultifying July morning to find that her husband of forty years has gone to get the paper and vanished, cleaning out his bank account along the way. Gretta’s three grown children converge on their parents’ home for the first time in years: Michael Francis, a history teacher whose marriage is failing; Monica, with two stepdaughters who despise her and a blighted past that has driven away the younger sister she once adored; and Aoife, the youngest, now living in Manhattan, a smart, immensely resourceful young woman who has arranged her entire life to conceal a devastating secret.
Maggie O’Farrell writes with exceptional grace and sensitivity about marriage, about the mysteries that inhere within families, and the fault lines over which we build our lives—the secrets we hide from the people who know and love us best. In a novel that stretches from the heart of London to New York City’s Upper West Side to a remote village on the coast of Ireland, O’Farrell paints a bracing portrait of a family falling apart and coming together with hard-won, life-changing truths about who they really are.
This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.
- Sales Rank: #36056 in eBooks
- Published on: 2013-06-18
- Released on: 2013-06-18
- Format: Kindle eBook
From Booklist
It is July 1976, and London is in the grip of an intense heatwave. All over the city, people are coming unhinged, and the Riordans are no exception. Retired banker Robert has left to buy a newspaper and never returns. His wife, Gretta, calls their three children, who converge on the family homestead for the first time in years. Michael Francis, full of regrets for the decisions he has made, is worried sick that his marriage is over; uptight Monica, trapped in a second marriage with two stepchildren who hate her, is not speaking to the younger sister she practically raised; and Aoife, who has taken herself off to Manhattan but cannot outrun the dyslexia that has made her working life a virtual hell. As the siblings seek out clues to the whereabouts of their father, O’Farrell, in her sixth novel, draws a beautiful portrait of family life. The story really blossoms in the second half, when the Riordans end their search in Ireland, where the family’s secrets and private feuds come raging forth so that the true healing can begin. --Joanne Wilkinson
Review
Praise for Instructions for a Heat Wave:
“Smart and provocative . . . O’Farrell has made her mark by combining the elements of good old-fashioned drama with a modern lightness of touch in language and a deft freedom in moving her narratives forward through juxtaposition rather than linear plotting . . . Over and over, she tries to work out who people really are, how ordinary lives can conceal extraordinary stories.”
–The New York Times Book Review
“Searing . . . Astonishing . . . Perhaps a perfect book . . . Full of unforgettable players . . . Instructions for a Heatwave is never dull, never unconvincing, proceeding at a stately and crisp speed through a fully rendered world, grappling at all times and in an original way with the fascinating problems of our time, rushing head-long—and yet staggering almost drunkenly when necessary—towards a stirring and wondrous conclusion.”
–Los Angeles Review of Books
“Maggie O’Farrell has written my favorite kind of novel: big-hearted, psychologically complex, and utterly gripping from page one. Her spare and subtle prose yields a narrative of extraordinary power. Instructions for a Heatwave is a quiet masterpiece, one I’ll be recommending for years to come.”
–Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette
“Instructions for a Heatwave is a thoroughly engrossing and suspenseful novel about an Irish family and its disparate members coming together one unbearably hot summer. Their mission is to find a father who has wandered off. Their unspoken mission is to rediscover and forgive each other for a lifetime of slights and betrayals, real and imagined. O’Farrell, in this beautifully-written tale, gets the psychological nuances just right.”
–Anita Shreve
“A rich, barbed interplay among siblings, who gibe, snap, and snipe as they go through their father's things, slowly teasing out one another's long-buried secrets—and a few of Gretta’s and Robert’s, too.”
–Entertainment Weekly, Grade: A-
“Beneath the shouting, O’Farrell can convey the slightest ‘wrinkle in the atmosphere.’”
–The New Yorker
“O’Farrell should be a household name.”
–Library Journal
“Superlative . . . A reunion of far-flung siblings for a Mike Leigh-style extravaganza of reckonings and reconciliations.”
–Vogue
“A piercing portrait of a family falling apart and coming together again.”
–Good Housekeeping
“Big-hearted . . . Assured . . . O’Farrell is deft at delineating character, to the extent that by the end of the novel, the reader feels on intimate terms with everyone involved . . . It might sound a little grand to wax lyrical about ‘the power of the novel’ and all that, but you know, there is such a thing, and this book taps into it . . . Well worth seeking out.”
–PopMatters
“A psychological drama of the first order . . . Instructions for a Heatwave is a prescription for healing—and forgiving—the rifts and dysfunctions of complicated family life. Brimming with wit, wisdom, and wonderful writing, it deserves a wide readership.”
–Examiner.com
“O’Farrell skillfully navigates between past and present, as family secrets are revealed and old grudges are hashed out, without ever losing the narrative’s pace. An absorbing read from start to finish, though O’Farrell’s vibrant prose, each character comes alive as more is revealed and the novel unfolds.”
–Publishers Weekly
“Thoughtful, expressive . . . Heatwave celebrates the particularly maddening and recognizable ways a family can shape us.”
–Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
“An Irish family saga, replete with secrets, rivalries, and misbehavior becomes a compelling and entertaining story in Maggie O’Farrell’s hands . . . O’Farrell takes readers on journeys interior and exterior—recounted in flawless prose that will have you reading while strap-hanging, standing in line, or waiting at a stop light.”
–Shelf Awareness
“Riveting . . . Finely drawn . . . Once again, O’Farrell demonstrates her mastery at depicting strained relationships, skewed family loyalties, and the just reachable light at the end of the tunnel.”
–Minneapolis Star Tribune
“A sizzling family dynamic radiates off the pages of this novel.”
–EW.com, “The Must List”
“A beautiful portrait of family life. The story really blossoms in the second half . . . where the family’s secrets and private feuds come raging forth so that the true healing can begin.”
–Booklist
“Lyrical . . . vivid . . . The power and resonance of the book is the journey the family members take during this scorching period in time . . . Read Instructions for a Heatwave and see if these characters, this family, with their secrets and insanity, don’t seep into your bones like the hot summer sun.”
–My Shelf Confessions
“A story of self-discovery and coming to terms with the truths that are ever present in our lives . . . It’s one of those rare books that balances each narrative device, plot point, and character perfectly, such that readers will be absolutely mesmerized by this book from beginning to end.”
–S. Krishna’s Books
“Maggie O’Farrell’s Instructions for a Heatwave is just the kind of family drama I love: Nobody gets off easy in it, but everybody gets treated with compassion. It’s stylish, funny, smart and skillfully written, and I could not put it down.”
–Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins
“A beautifully written and perfectly observed story of family, secrets, and forgiveness. Instructions for a Heatwave is an absolute gem. It’s the kind of novel that you want to devour and savor at the same time.”
–Courtney Sullivan
“Acutely observed…revelatory, redemptive, and moving…There is a deliciousness to this novel, a warmth and readability that render it unputdownable and will surely make it a hit. O’Farrell has done it again.”
–Joanna Briscoe, The Guardian
“An accomplished and addictive story told with real humanity, warmth, and infectious love for the characters. Highly recommended.”
–Viv Groskop, The Observer
“A literary event…evocative, articulate, and joyously readable…O’Farrell’s talent for drawing intriguing but relatable characters is eclipsed only by a rare gift for description that is almost photographic in its imagery…An author at the top of her game.”
–Charlotte Heathcote, The Sunday Express
“Humorous, humane, and perceptive…O’Farrell depicts relationships with piercing acuity in haunting, intense prose…a deliciously insightful writer…Her sharp but humane eye dissects every form of human interaction.”
–Leyla Sanai, The Independent on Sunday
“Elegant, lyrical, and subtle…O’Farell’s a compassionate writer, showing us every member of the family from a variety of viewpoints, ensuring that we understand and feel for every one of them even as they drive each other mad…The Riordans will stay in your mind long after you finish reading this book. They’re funny, infuriating, and impossible not to love. They feel like family.”
–Anna Carey, The Irish Times
“Thoroughly absorbing and beautifully written…A novel about what we say and what other people hear; about families; what we don’t tell each other and what we do; the compromises and accommodations we make and what happens when we build our lives around half-truths.”
–Victoria Moore, Daily Mail
“A ripping yarn…A brilliant domestic drama that teeters on the edge of being a thriller; it’ll hook you in at the start and keep you dangling.”
–Katie Law, Evening Standard
“O’Farrell is adept at creating pace out of the intricacies of family relations. She keeps the gas up on the Bunsen burner throughout...I felt that I gobbled this book.”
–Vicky Allan, The Herald
“Farrell’s language is lissom, airborne, mostly seamless, her characters flawed, contradictory, aggravating and instantly knowable. This is a deceptively easy, effortlessly true-feeling novel; a total delight.”
–Claire Allfree, Metro
“O’Farrell is hard to beat. Anyone looking for a British equivalent of Anne Tyler need look no further.”
–David Robinson, The Scotsman
“A surprising, beautiful novel, full of the intricacies of family life…You’ll find yourself wanting to devour it in one sitting.”
–Claire Frost, Fabulous Magazine
About the Author
Maggie O'Farrell is the author of seven novels, AFTER YOU'D GONE, MY LOVER'S LOVER, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, which won a Somerset Maugham Award, THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX, THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE, which won the 2010 Costa Novel Award, INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Novel Award, and THIS MUST BE THE PLACE. She lives in Edinburgh.
Most helpful customer reviews
35 of 39 people found the following review helpful.
A story about family dynamics
By Julia Flyte
Recently I heard Kate Atkinson speak at a writer's festival. I am an only child, as is she, and she said something that struck a chord with me. She talked about how she is fascinated by families and the dynamics between siblings. It seems to her that families are a safe place where you can behave worse than you would in any other facet of your life and somehow it is permissible and you will (eventually) be forgiven. When the sibling dynamic is something that you yourself have not experienced, it is endlessly puzzling and fascinating.
I don't know if Maggie O'Farrell is an only child (her biography does not disclose this information), but one of the things that I love about her as a writer is the way she explores families and the complicated relationship between siblings (look no further than The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox). This is another book about family dynamics, with the plot playing almost a secondary role to the relationships between the siblings and their parents.
It's set in England in 1976. Robert Riordan tells his wife Gretta that he's going out to buy a newspaper and doesn't come back. The three children return home to support their mother and assist with the search. Michael Francis comes from across town, Monica comes up from London and Aoife (pronounced EE-fah) flies home from New York where she has been living for 8 years. All of the children are dealing with their own issues: marriage problems, long held grudges, tightly held secrets. And Gretta is also nursing her own secrets. Maggie O'Farrell is such a wonderful writer and the characters really come to life.
In the afterword, the author explains that she used the setting of the 1976 heatwave because she thinks that aberrant weather brings out erratic behaviour. I am not sure whether this was entirely effective although there is a heightened sense of unreality in Gretta's responses to the situation and maybe the weather was a factor in this. O'Farrell also has a slightly irritating habit of not entirely wrapping her endings up. The reader is left to intuit or guess exactly how things panned out. I didn't particularly mind this, but I can see that some people might find that irritating.
I loved this book. I got wrapped up in the characters and I felt that I got to know them all.
27 of 33 people found the following review helpful.
Maggie O'Farrell Does Not Disappoint!
By Adriana in Los Angeles
I love Maggie O'Farrell, and was very excited when I found out she had a new book coming out. But I absolutely could not wait for the scheduled June release in the U.S. Thank you, Amazon UK!
This is probably Ms. O'Farrell's most mature offering. Not that her previous books had been even remotely adolescent. Far from it. But this story flowed much more easily than her earlier works. I almost miss the disjointed changes in perspective and person from her earlier books, but then the easy flow of this novel would have been lost.
The story itself takes place over one weekend, and as the focus switches from one character to the other, we see their flashbacks which fill in why they are at odds with each other. As always, there is one (or more) dark secret(s) being kept by one or more of the main characters.
The story is all told in the third person, alternating between Gretta, whose husband just disappeared one hot morning, and her three grown children when they all come together to try to figure out what happened to him. Ms. O'Farrell creates such likable yet flawed characters. As they tiptoe around their secrets and grudges, and finally reveal all, you can't help wanting to know that everything will work out for them. Ms. O'Farrell has never been one to give a definite ending to any of her stories, leaving the reader to imagine the ultimate outcome, but this story in particular left me wanting a happily ever after for everyone. They all carried so much baggage for so long, and it was such a relief when they finally let it go, that despite their seeming insurmountable differences, it would be such a waste for them not to be able to work everything out and have everything they want.
Yet as much as I enjoyed the story, it did feel as part of it was missing. I would have liked to have gotten into the head of Gretta's husband, find out his motivations and reactions to each lie of omission he fed his wife, and whether he gave any thought to how his family would react at his disappearance, and how he felt at having his long-held secrets finally pieced together.
22 of 28 people found the following review helpful.
Best Title: Dysfunctions within a Family Surface in the midst of a Heatwave
By Tell Me A Story
What separates a good novel from a great novel? Topic? Narrative? Conflict? Dialogue? Characters? Yes, of course these are critical to a greater or lesser extent depending on the story being told. I would add that a well-written drama is one that has: a tight interesting narrative. I had every expectation based on the publicity summary that this book had captured this essence. "Sophisticated, intelligent, impossible to put down, Maggie O'Farrell's beguiling novels--blend richly textured psychological drama with page-turning suspense." Unfortunately, the novel fell short of that.
Over half the book, two key components were lacking. For one, the loose narrative meandered often with little purpose. Additionally, I found only one of the characters truly interesting and sympathetic. Though the story's premise is to locate the missing husband/father, Robert; he is more of an afterthought and the focus is the relationships between three adult siblings and their mother, Gretta. Though Robert is located, essentially we have nary a clue as to whether the family will reunite. I found this unsatisfactory and a major failing in the story's primary task.
The main focus of the story is family dynamics. Do we allow our family to continue to view us as we were labeled in childhood or do we challenge that perception by revealing our adult personality and take the risk of rejection by challenging their perception? As adults, where do we draw the line between being true to ourselves or still seeking approval? Each character struggles with the ensuing division, stress and isolation of choosing to do right and how they define what is right. Here we see each person's facade to hide their secrets and desires. What role does self-acceptance and family acceptance of our shortcomings and personality conflicts impact our willingness to forgive ourselves and each other? Once the sympathetic Aoife, the most rebellious of the three children, comes to terms with her lifelong, hidden challenge and begins to accept herself despite her shame, the book improves considerably; unfortunately this occurs in the last few chapters.
Unfortunately, due to the narrative much of the time, the reader wonders where the author is going. The book was to long and its bumpy narrative with senseless sentence construction are inexcusable. The heatwave is the setting of the story to provide a reference point to an era where people were much more secretive about their personal lives. As well as, to emphasize the stress and irritation such weather can produce. Though I tip my hat that the title creates anticipation; thus an effective marketing tool, ensuring good initial sales but it can't overcome the flaws exhibited within the novel.
If you are a Maggie O'Farrell fan, you may find my comments harsh. I think there are plenty of books today that are: "Sophisticated, intelligent, impossible to put down, Maggie O'Farrell's beguiling novels--blend richly textured psychological drama with page-turning suspense."
*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for posting a book review. My opinion is just that, it was in no way influenced by outside parties.
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