'I FINISHED THIS WONDERFUL BOOK IN FLOODS OF TEARS' JESSIE BURTON
'SUCH A PLEASURE' CLARE CHAMBERS
'WITTY AND INSIGHTFUL' BONNIE GARMUS

At fifty-seven, Julia Ames finds herself with an improbably lovely life. She has a husband she loves, two happy children and a contented existence in the suburbs.

She's unprepared, though, for what comes next: a surprise announcement from her straight-arrow son, a soon-to-be empty nest, and a seductive resurgence of the past - all of which threaten to derail Julia's hard-earned peace.

Wise, witty and deeply moving, this brilliantly observed domestic drama asks what it takes to make - and not to break - a family.

'A FAMILY SAGA TO SAVE AS A TREAT AND DEVOUR WHEN YOU SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING ELSE' INDEPENDENT
'LOMBARDO IS THE NEW ANNE TYLER, WITH TEETH' ERICKA WALLER
'A BIG AMERICAN NOVEL TO GET TOTALLY LOST IN' CLAIRE POWELL

"A gorgeous, strange domestic drama that flows between timelines as we approach the wedding of our protagonist Julia's adult son. We are treated to her complicated and revelatory inner life. I loved it" - Observer

"Infidelity, dysfunction, secrets - this family novel delivers . . . A 500-page, multigenerational examination of the ties that bind . . . Lombardo refashions domestic drama into something rich and strange, with echoes of Lorrie Moore's sardonic humour and Jonathan Franzen's dissection of class . . . Like Franzen's Marion Hildebrandt, or Faye, the narrator of Rachel Cusk's Outline trilogy, Lombardo gives us a woman whose inner life is knotted and revelatory . . . Same as It Ever Was is a brave, nuanced book, lulling us with its rhythms but taking risks when we glance away" - New York Times

"A family saga to save as a treat and devour when you should be doing something else, in which events past and present upset a long marriage" - Independent

"Lombardo has such a fine eye for the weft and warp of a family's fabric. She understands the chemistry of that special epoxy of irritation and affection that keeps a marriage glued together. One finishes Same As It Ever Was with the satisfaction of knowing this complicated woman well - and the poignant disappointment of having to say goodbye" - Washington Post

"Moving back and forth in time, Claire Lombardo's astute and often moving second novel charts the life of the breathtakingly self-sabotaging Julia Ames . . . Lombardo's psychological acuity and her compassion for her characters amply reward attention" - Wall Street Journal

"Lombardo loves her characters, taking time to peel back each of their layers through the time-lapse structure of the novel and her rich descriptions. . . A sure bet for fans of Richard Russo and Jane Smiley" - Booklist

"One of those beautifully written, keenly observed novels where not that much happens - other than, you know, life itself - but also so much happens . . . Claire Lombardo has written a whole cast of characters so detailed, so specifically themselves, that you almost feel you could reach out and touch them" - NPR

"Pitch-perfect. . . Lombardo is compulsively readable and consistently funny, and it's impossible to look away as Julia continues to self-sabotage. This domestic drama hits all the right notes" - Publisher’s Weekly (Starred Review)

"Sparkling. . . Readers will be torn between their instinct to race to the finish and their desire to savour every page" - Publisher’s Weekly Summer Reads