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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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Larger-than-life artist Vic Kemp has always been the heart and soul of his four children’s lives. Now they simply don’t know what’s got into their dad. He’s gone off and married the mysterious and much younger Bella Rae, an ‘artist” he met online. He’s lost weight and even grown a goatee. When the newlyweds decamp to the family’s idyllic villa in Italy where Vic is working on his masterpiece, the siblings are mystified.
Then they hear the shocking news that Vic is dead and his children are forced to confront their relationship with him and each other. Determined to uncover the truth behind their father’s final days – and suspicious that the elusive Bella Rae may not be as innocent as she seems, they head for the villa.
Each sibling brings a unique perspective to the unfolding drama: Netta, the responsible one; Susan, the disillusioned homemaker; Goose, emotionally scarred by his powerful father; and Iris, Vic’s favoured muse – a role that has long bred resentment among the others.
As the summer unfolds, old tensions resurface and long-held secrets come to light. The family must reckon with their shared past and decide whether it will bind them together or tear them apart.
An insightful, atmospheric, and emotionally rich novel from a masterful storyteller.

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Rachel Joyce writes so beautifully, it’s always a pleasure to read her books, and this was no exception. A very finely observed portrait of a family - those things which tied them together but which also ultimately broke them apart. Although I really enjoyed reading this, I couldn’t help but feel a little saddened that this wasn’t the gloriously uplifting story which I’ve come to expect from Rachel, and perhaps prefer, but that said, the execution of it was as wonderful as always. Many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

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This is an absolute delight of a book. We meet the Kemp family, dominated by their larger than life father– a successful artist, bombastic, wealthy and held in awe by his three daughters and son. The siblings have a wonderful, close relationship, despite being so very different. When their father dies suddenly, however, soon after his shock wedding to a very young woman his children have never met, the relationship starts to show cracks. The Homemade God is a very moving exploration of family ties and grief as the siblings start to reexamine everything they thought they knew about each other and their father. The characters are so real and relatable, (except for those, like the new wife, who remains (purposely) unknowable), the Italian island setting so tangible with its colours and heat. You can hear those slip slops, taste those gelatos and feel those hangovers. This book is at once joyful, desperately sad, uplifting, hopeful and satisfying. Highly recommended.

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DNF for me. I tried this in multiple formats and I generally know within a few chapter whether something is going to be 'for me' and this wasn't. I've never read Rachel Joyce before, but there was just something in the storytelling that I did not vibe with. Whether it's a 'not for right now' kind of situation or a 'not going back' one, I don't know, but I just wasn't hooked into the storytelling on this one.

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Loved the complex relationships and characters. I couldn’t make my mind up all the way through as to who was in the right and who was the villain if indeed there even was one. Clever tale and interesting characters.

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