I have read everything Rachel Joyce has ever written. Hell I would read her shopping lists if she wouldnt then have me arrested for being over familiar. This book was beautiful. It arrived at a time when I was grieving my own father and so I couldnt read it initially but when I did it was the perfect disctraction, whilst at the same time allowing me to process what I too was going through as the characters in the book did the same. Rachel has this knack of creating storylines that draw you in, in such an unshowy way, and that leave you thinking about the characters long after the last page. I didnt think that Rachel could trump Harold Fry but this one might have just nudged it. A wonderful read.

Joyce has really upped her game. I've somehow read all of her books - yes, all eight - despite often finding them, from Harold Fry onward, disappointingly sentimental and twee. But with this she's entering the big leagues, moving into the more expansive, elegant and empathetic territory of novels by Anne Enright (The Green Road), Patrick Gale (Notes from an Exhibition), Maggie O'Farrell (Instructions for a Heatwave) and Tom Rachman (The Italian Teacher). It's the story of four siblings, initially drawn together and then dramatically blown apart by their father's death.

Vic Kemp, the title figure, was a larger-than-life, womanizing painter whose work divided critics. After his wife's early death from cancer, he raised three daughters and a son with the help of a rotating cast of nannies (whom he inevitably slept with). At 76 he delivered the shocking news that he was marrying again: Bella-Mae, an artist in her twenties - much younger than any of his children. They moved from London to his second home in Italy just weeks before he drowned in Lake Orta. Netta, the eldest daughter, is sure there's something fishy; he knew the lake so well, and would never have gone out for a swim with a mist rolling in. Did Bella-Mae kill him for his money? And where is his last painting? Funny how waiting for an autopsy report and searching for a new will and carping with siblings over the division of belongings can ruin what should be paradise.

The interactions between Netta, Susan, Goose (Gustav) and Iris, plus Bella-Mae and her cousin Laszlo, are all flawlessly done, and through flashbacks and surges forward we learn so much about these flawed and flailing characters. The derelict villa and surrounding small town are appealing settings, and there are a lot of intriguing references to food, fashion and modern art.

My only small points of criticism are that Iris is less fleshed out than the others (and her bombshell secret felt distasteful), and that Joyce occasionally resorts to delivering some of her old obvious (though true) messages through an omniscient narrator, whereas they could be more palatable if they came out organically in dialogue or indirectly through a character's thought process. Here's an example: "When someone dies or disappears, we can only tell stories about what might have been the case or what might have happened next." (One I liked better: "There were some things you never got over. No amount of thinking or talking would make them right: the best you could do was find a way to live alongside them.") I also don't think Goose would have been able to view his father's body more than two months after his death; even with embalming, it would have started to decay within weeks.

You can tell that Joyce got her start in theatre because she's so good at scenes and dialogue, and at moving people into different groups to see what they'll do. She's taken the best of her work in other media and brought it to bear here. It's fascinating how Goose starts off seeming minor and eventually becomes the main POV character. And ending with a wedding (good enough for a Shakespearean comedy) offers a lovely occasion for a potential reconciliation after a (tragi)comic plot. More of this calibre, please! (4.5 stars)

This was a bit of a crazy tale of an artist and his children. It's set in their house in the Italian Lakes which is gorgeously described and there are flashbacks to their London life also. The father has met a much younger woman in his old age then unexpectedly dies while on holiday, leaving his estate to her. The children all go to the lake house to confront the wife. There is a lot of intense sibling emotions at play and they are very entrenched in the roles that they play with their father and between themselves.

It's very well written and while you might not like any of the characters (living or dead!) you need to keep reading. Very good, highly recommend

I absolutely loved this book. The plot was very original and I really liked all the (highly dysfunctional) characters, especially the interesting sibling dynamics. There were some excellent plot twists that I didn't see coming; I was totally immersed and gripped. It's funny, moving and compulsive. Highly recommended.

"The fact is," she said, "we're all born. We're all going to die. So the only interesting question is what we choose to do with the middle."

When 76-year-old artist Vic Kemp gathers his four children at a restaurant, they think he's going to tell them he's finally finished the painting he has called his masterpiece. Instead, he announces he's getting remarried to 27-year-old Bella-Mae, an artist they've never heard of.

Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris are worried, but despite their concerns, Vic takes Bella-Mae to the family's Italian lakeside villa, where he marries her without them being there. Six weeks later, he's dead, and his children travel to the villa where they'll have to meet Bella-Mae for the first time. Also, there is no updated will and no masterpiece to be found anywhere.

This multi-generational story wasn't quite what I expected. I loved 'Miss Benson's Beetle' and 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' is on my TBR, but 'The Homemade God' just didn't affect me much on an emotional level. I don't mind a slow pace in my books, but I never quite felt like I knew where the story was taking me, and at times, I put this book down and picked up others because my patience with the lack of discernible plot was wearing thin.

This is a largely character-driven book, and while I don't mind main characters being flawed, the siblings were incredibly annoying. The only one with a little self-awareness is Goose. And the more the reader learns about Vic, the more unlikeable and downright abusive he is revealed to be.

The author structured the book so that you have all the siblings' points of view, with a short, separate part showing the truth about Bella-Mae and her relationship with Vic, which I felt could have been integrated into the main body of the novel, something that may have intrigued me and held my interest a little more.

Mysterious and drolly fun
—
The four grown Kemps, children of a world famous artist, are shocked when their father Vic elopes with his new fiancée, fifty years his junior, and further shocked when he dies at his Italian villa with her as the only witness. His last painting appears to have vanished and his new wife remains enigmatic about that, how they met, why she’s now his dealer, how he died, who gets the estate. Mysteries abound, and it’s only when one secret gets revealed that the whole house of cards of a happy family starts to fall down around their ears.

Each of the grown children have their reasons to shrink into the role their father gave to them, consciously or not, but without him, the cracks rapidly appear. Having read another novel of a middle class family in the wake of the death of the paterfamilias, I was ready for the same beats, but this was both more mysterious and actually drolly funnier. Joyce gets right at the heart of what being family is all about, as well as getting it right about the art, and the languid heat of Italy suffuses the drama, giving it an otherworldly air that heightens the strangeness of Vic’s final days; and the final revelations are breadcrumbed well so the eventual denouements surprise but are logical within the novel’s structure. I loved the ending but it was a right turn after all the drama of the previous 95% of the book, but I can’t think of any better way to end it for these fascinating characters. The only complaint is that they shine so brightly, as does the young stepmother, that everyone else turns into wallpaper, but you can’t have everything.

A book about family and how secrets can destroy the bonds that have been forged over many years. Vic Kemp is a world-famous artist when he unexpectedly marries a much younger woman, and then dies, his four children are suspicious. Set around the family villa by an Italian lake, the book is rich with detail and simmering distrust. A book that deals with grief and how it can push family apart rather than bring. loved ones closer together. As always the authors descriptions of the family, their history and their life experiences are bought vividly alive on the page. Although I really didn’t like some of the characters, I could not bring myself to put this book down. It was a real page turner. I both read and listened to this novel and would recommend it in both formats. I am really looking forward to the next book from this author. many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the A.R.C of thisnovel in return for an honest review

Rachel Joyce writes so well and this was a lovely novel set in Italy about a group of siblings and their relationships with each other and their father. Gorgeous descriptions and a well thought out and presented plot made this a pleasure to read. Would highly recommend.

Another winner from a wonderful writer. Lots of languid descriptions of life in Italy interspersed with acutely depicted sibling rivalry and fascinating characters made for an intoxicating brew.

Beautifully plotted and paced this was yet another engrossing book which I relished.

A suspenseful read, good plot lines made this a great read!

The charecters were very well written that you really got to know them and their issues!

A good read

The sweltering Italian sun in the second half of the novel made this the perfect choice for a heatwave! I really enjoyed this story of an unusual family and the ties that bind them together (and then push them apart). Vic is a truly awful character but his magnetic effect on others is clear to see, whereas Bella-Mae remains a mystery for the majority of the book. An interesting read and a great character study of a family in freefall.

An engrossing and interesting story about four siblings and the underlying tensions and bitterness that become exposed after their father Vic dies suddenly whilst on his honeymoon.

Vic has married a much younger woman who has apparently inspired him to complete his final masterpiece.

Eldest daughter Netta is extremely suspicious of Bella-Mae, this woman who stole their father away. Has she hidden the picture? Is she responsible for their father's death?

Susan develops an obsessive infatuation with Bella-Mae's cousin.

Goose learns that his artistic talent was seen as a threat by his own father and that he's wasted quite enough time doubting his ability to create something beautiful.

And baby of the family, Iris. cossetted and petted, is herself keeping a secret that has the potential to wreak more havoc.

A languidly paced story that makes you question everyone and everything, but that beautifully ties up all unanswered questions and shows us that even when there is nothing but grief and anger, time can soften and heal.

Four siblings go out to Italy to deal with their father’s sudden death, shortly after marrying a young bride who none of them have met. There’s great atmosphere with the oppressive heat and the tension between all of the characters as they try and understand what happened. I thought for a while that this was going to be similar to My Cousin Rachel - there were enough sinister undertones and suspicions hovering, but I was glad that it went off in its own direction as I think it ended up being much more original and kept me guessing what was really going on. The heart of this novel is in exploring the complexity of family dynamics. To me, the fallout in the second half of the novel felt overly exaggerated, and yet even whilst saying that I know these things happen, it has happened in my own experience to people close to me, so I also know that it isn’t exaggerated, and I think that the family dysfunction is a really interesting topic to delve into here and to try and make sense of somehow, to dissect the traumas we all live with. I liked the siblings whilst also not really connecting with them on a deeper level, so whilst I enjoyed reading this, it didn’t wow me or leave me with a feeling of super satisfaction. I think it’s a good summer suspense novel.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher, Doubleday, for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

At the heart of this book is the sibling rivalry that stems from the emotional neglect of their bohemian, self-centered father. Set against a stifling summer in Italy, tensions rise and the past bubbles up, with long held grudges verbalised. The Homemade God is reflective of the shallowness of adulation - the reverence of a father figure who is larger than life. But what legacy is left behind when the tangible is worthless?
Rachel Joyce is a skilled writer, eeking compassion towards the characters who on the surface deserve little - you feel the overbearing Italian sun beating down on the siblings and all their insignificant lives.

Beautifully written and worthy of a read.

A story about a dysfunctional family. In places it is a little bit far fetched, but as a whole the characters are believable and very gripping. A slow read, but worth sticking with

The fallout of a dysfunctional family after the death of the strong father who kept them all together while in each of the four children he moulded them to suit his own needs. While he was alive the four were always looking out for each other but when the layers started to peel in their perception of how there father treated each events left them all to turn against one another once he died. .

Could not work out the situation with Bella-Mae.

Good read, nice and easy for a holiday

Joyce has done it again.

The depth of this disfunctional, disastrous and over privileged family is incredible. Although I didn't like all of them, all of the time, it didn't take away the desire to know what was going to happen to them.

The descriptions of Italy were expensive and pretty. If you've been to Italy, you will be there again but if you haven't you will feel it.

I didn't cry this time and this authors books normally reduce me to tears, but still a story I won't forget.

I enjoyed reading this tale of four siblings struggling to come to terms with their father’s death. We see each of their stories and how they interact with each other and how they interacted with their father. The setting in Italy gives a delightful feel to the story.

Sadly this book wasn’t for me, it was a rather strange story about siblings following the death of their father. I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be a mystery, it never quite got there and I didn’t feel any empathy with any of the characters. But the setting was evocative and well done and I did read all of the book as I wanted to know how it ended!

A moreish family saga which follows 4 siblings in the aftermath of their father's death. As they struggle to come to terms with his loss, they are also scrambling to understand his recent marriage to a much younger woman. We watch them congregate and implode as vulnerabilities are laid bare, secrets are revealed, and they try to negotiate the shifting dynamics of their family. It's set mostly in Italy - Lake Orta - and it was deliciously idllyic and atmospheric. I loved the mess and sadness of the characters. I loved the tension and the way it kept me questioning whether there was foul play in the mix. And I especially loved the drama and dysfunction of it all. A wonderful read.