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.

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.

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.

The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce - I must admit, I didnt know what to expect from this book, but I knew I had to read it as soon as I saw it!
Its a far cry from Harold Fry, but really good. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I don't know where to start in describing the story, I guess its about a family with a big character as a dad, & how everything unfolds as he dies.
He's caused them all probably a bit of damage growing up, & the story shows how they find themselves, put their lives back together, & live for themselves.

Most of it is set in Italy, & I love being somewhere pretty in a book, as I felt like I was there with them.

This is possibly like no other book I've ever read. It's tragic but beautiful, all at the same time, & I cried for the last 20 pages!!

Definitely a recommended read from me - thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc.

I love Rachel Joyce and was delighted to get the opportunity to read and review this one. Unfortunately I have to say I didn’t love it as much as I’ve loved her previous work. Well, that was how I was feeling as I read it. A little disappointed. Yet somehow, by the time I got to the end of the book I had decided I liked it a lot more. I can’t explain why, I just ended up really caring about the characters as the story finished. That’s the magic of the writing I suppose. Still love her and can’t wait to read what comes next.

Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for the advance copy.

The Homemade God has the perfect holiday/beach vibe going into summer, so is well timed. And what a cracking story to enjoy. The Kemp siblings and their daddy issues bring with them a wide scope of emotional drama as father Vic, an artist, is transformed at the hands of a new, much younger woman in his life. Made more ominous as Bella-Mae, the new woman, is rather illusive and none of the four have met her yet, sparking rumours and considerable concern among Vic's children.

Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris are Vic's kids. All grown and fully formed with lives and characters of their own. I was instantly captivated by them. Their easy manner with each other and their set roles within the family hierarchy made me long for a bigger family. Sure, plenty of negatives as everyone knows everything about each other but the warmth of love and understanding shared among them made them delightful as they schemed to figure out what was happening with Vic and Vic's new masterpiece.

What struck me most was the fact that the book unfolded in an entirely unexpected fashion. When a crisis occurs and all siblings are drawn to the family island in Orta, Italy I had plenty of assumptions but all were wrong. The direction the book headed was more insightful and authentic. I loved it, felt touched by it, and am so pleased I read this during a heat wave. If only I had been by a beautiful Italian lake, as they were. Beautifully written, interesting characters, amazing dynamic. Great fun.

The Homemade God is fascinating read about the splintering of a family. Siblings Susan, Netta, Goose and Iris are shocked when their artist father Vic announces he’s going to marry a much younger woman they have never met and head off to their Italian lakeside villa to work on the masterpiece he’s always wanted to create. Within days, he is dead and the family head off to Italy looking for answers.

Rachel Joyce’s skill is in gradually letting her readers get to know her characters through their varied recollections of their younger lives and their relationship with their father. It’s very much a character driven novel. We read about the rising tensions between the siblings as they have constantly compared themselves with each other and vied to find their place in the family. I felt they were all ultimately seeking approval and validation from their father and when it was snatched away from them by his death, they were left with uncertainty and unanswered questions.

I’m a little conflicted about this book. I enjoyed it, though not as much as Rachel Joyce’s previous books, but then came one particular chapter near the end which turned everything on its head. It was very cleverly done but for me, it came a little late in the story. Not the usual quirky style of a Rachel Joyce book but well worth your time.

I always like to pick up books by Rachel Joyce and I wasn’t disappointed with this new one although it didn’t get me as emotionally as some of her others. Vic Kemp is a self-taught artist whose pictures have had some appeal - the subject matter being mainly semi-clad females. He is also a notorious womaniser. On top of this he is the single father to four children, Netta, Susan, Goose (Gustav) and Iris after his wife died shortly after Iris’ birth. The children’s childhood was haphazard. Vic was absent in his studio for huge chunks of time and they were left to fend for themselves and together they formed an almost self contained unit. Them against the world. As they matured to adulthood, Netta took care of Vic’s business (she became a lawyer), Susan took care of the domestic side of his life (she married an older man and became step-mother to his twins) Goose took charge of his father’s studio (he was a failed artist who had a breakdown) and Iris became almost invisible. She was the only child who Vic ever painted. Then, in his 70s, Vioc announced that he was getting married to Bella-Mae - an artist who was 6 years younger than Iris. He took Bella-Mae to his villa on Lake Orta and sent a text to his four children telling them he had got married. The children refused to go over to Italy but then they received the news that he had died. On Lake Orta all four siblings met Bella-Mae for the first time and slowly the close knot family started to unravel. Netta was convinced that the only reason her father had drowned was that he was poisoned by Bella-Mae and and she was relentless in her search for the truth. On top of this Vic’s will was missing as was the painting that he had gone to Italy to paint - his masterpiece. The search was on. This is a story of secrets and of the effect that Vic had upon each of his children. Each was damaged by him in different ways and it wasn’t until he died that these cracks were discovered and it was interesting to see the role that Bella-Mae played. While not my favourite of her books, I enjoyed the way that she turned these four siblings into almost complete strangers. My favourite was definitely Goose, his story and the damage that Vic did to him was so sad

A well written story about an estranged father figure and four adult siblings who all seem to have issues relating to their relationship with him. The writing is beautifully descriptive and easy to imagine the Italian setting. His hasty marriage to a much younger woman and then his untimely death drive huge wedges through the siblings, who are all trying to deal with his death and what discover other possible reasons for his demise. I didn't totally relate to his young wife Bella-Mae, but maybe that was the intention. Thoroughly recommended read.

This is a broad expansive family drama and another stellar performance from Rachel Joyce. It is a departure from her other fiction but works just as effectively as her previous novels. The setting is very well imagined, and all the characters are well drawn in many dimensions, showing there are really never good guys and bad guys, just humans. Deserves a wide audience.







Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK/Transworld Publishers, and the author Rachel Joyce

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK/Transworld Publishers, and the author Rachel Joyce.
I'm afraid I really didn't enjoy this one. From the start, the plot and the characters felt half-baked and two-dimensional, and I found myself rushing through it all the way to the end. There was no redemption for either the unrealistic characters or the unexplained story arc, and it felt loose and haphazard. Not for me. A generous 2 stars.

What an incredible book this is. When I thought that Rachel Joyce couldn’t get any better, she proves me so very wrong. From her incredible observational skills, to her characterisation and placing, this is a book that screams “read me again” as soon as you have finished.

This is a family drama full of longheld resentments which all come to light following the unexpected death of Vic, the father of four siblings.
Vic, a self taught artist is left to bring up Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris following the death of their mother. He is a difficult man and the siblings are very much left to their own devices with Netta the eldest in charge, yet all four wanting to be their father's favourite.
When Vic at the age of 76, announces he is to wed a much younger woman and produce a new painting, things begin to change. He travels to their villa in Italy with his new wife Bella-Mae. It is from there that the siblings learn of their father's sudden death. They travel out to Lake Orta, convinced that their father's death is suspicious.
The author crafts a story full of revelations. Bella-Mae soon breaks the bond between siblings and everything changes and the siblings become estranged from each other.
I loved all four characters. A powerful tale.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Rachel Joyce’s latest novel published last week made for perfect holiday reading over the spring break. Set between London and Lake Orta in Italy, it’s a family saga centred around patriarch and larger than life artist Vic, and his four children Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris.

When Vic gathers his children for dinner in London, they hope and expect he’ll have news of his latest work, a masterpiece he claims will cap his career. Instead he tells them he’s met and is about to marry Bella Mae, a woman almost fifty years his junior. When he decamps to the family’s ramshackle, decadent holiday home on Lake Orta with Bella Mae, the family ignore him but when he dies suddenly, leaving behind more questions than answers, the family gather in Italy to sort through the detritus of his life and legacy.

An immersive story with a rich and interesting cast of characters and a lush setting, The Homemade God strikes the right balance between whimsy and weighty, and makes for an atmospheric summer saga. 4/5⭐️

*Many thanks to the publisher Double Day/Random House for the arc via @netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Homemade God was published last Thursday 17 April.

Rachel Joyce is an author who's gifted with a lovely turn of phrase and the ability to create characters that you really care about. 'The Homemade God' draws you in very quickly to the drama of the Kemp family - unreliable artist father Vic and his four adult children. The siblings are horrified when Vic announces out of the blue that he plans to marry a woman younger than any of them, whom they have never met. Not long after, Vic dies suddenly and the family gathers at their Italian villa to try to piece together what happened. Was Vic's death the tragic accident that the police seem to think it was? Where is his will - and where is his highly anticipated last great painting? Over the course of a stifling summer old family secrets and resentments come to light and everyone is left changed forever.

I liked and had sympathy with all the characters, even if I didn't always like their behaviour. Joyce writes with a great understanding of the complexity of sibling relationships, weighted down with literally a whole lifetime of emotional baggage. It was sad to read as the formerly very close brother and sisters fell out with each other, but it also becomes clear as you progress through the story that it was necessary for each of them to be able to grow as an individual.

The central mystery about Vic's death provides a good driver for the plot - I entertained all sorts of theories, that changed or came back up over the course of the novel. It's a bit Christie-ish with the missing will, mysterious death and semi-closed circle of characters, although the story is more character driven than a 'whodunnit'. I liked the emphasis on sibling relationships rather than romantic ones.

If you like well written literary fiction, books that are about people and relationships in all their strangeness and fascination, then this should go on your reading list. It reminds me of some of Anne Tyler's novels, although it's got a stronger plot than those often do.

Vic Kemp is a successful if rather commercial artist who wants to taken seriously. He forms a relationship with a much younger woman and then marries her to the consternation of his four adult children. When Vic dies suddenly with no will his children rush to his Italian holiday home where they try to take control from his widow. During this period they are forced to confront their own issues and the family splinters apart.
Joyce has a really comfortable way of writing which depicts actions but with a real sense of humanity as well. Here the selfishness of each of the siblings is exposed as well as their secrets but in a non-sensationalist way. The younger widow is the least explored character but actually her mystique helps to reflect on the children's characters. this feels a more mature piece of writing from Joyce and I enjoyed it very much.

I simply love Rachel Joyce and everything she writes is pure perfection!

Having waited years for new material this did not disappoint and I highly recommend that fans of her work pick this book up…now.

The story:
Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris – the four children of famous artist and dominating patriarch Vic Kemp – have built their lives with their father at the centre. When Vic announces he is going to marry 27-year-old Bella-Mae, younger than his youngest daughter, they are shocked. But Vic has had so many affairs through the years, surely this will end as they all have… But when news of Vic’s marriage at their family summer home on Lake Orta in Italy is followed swiftly by news of his death, the siblings are thrown into chaos. With long-held fractures in their relationships brought to the surface, is the family finally broken beyond repair?

My thoughts:
Having enjoyed previous books by Rachel Joyce, particularly “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”, I was excited to read her latest novel “The Homemade God”.

This story begins in 2015, and we meet the Kemp family, centred around artist Vic. Vic describes himself as ‘homemade’; by which he means he’s a self-taught artist. Somewhat sneered upon by the establishment, he is nonetheless popular and has made a lot of money selling his work.

Summoning his four grown-up children to a noodle bar in London’s Soho, Vic springs the news that he is marrying again at the age of 76, to a woman 6 years younger than his youngest daughter. This of course causes various reactions amongst his children, from disbelief to anger.

Raised by Vic since the death of their mother when they were very young, all four siblings are damaged in certain ways, although most would not admit it. Netta is driven to succeed in all things, and she has excelled academically and in her career as a litigation lawyer. But this has come at the cost of personal relationships and a heavy reliance on alcohol. Susan, born less than a year after Netta, has lived her life worshipping and wanting to be her sister. Vulnerable Goose (real name Gustav) is perhaps the sibling I liked the most, and he has suffered from a lack of confidence in himself all his life, which culminated in a devastating breakdown in his early twenties. He now spends his days helping his father with his work, but never picking up a paintbrush himself, despite his early desire to be an artist. Youngest child Iris, although 33 years old, is still very much the baby of the family and both acts and is treated as such by the rest.

This sets the scene for revelations, both large and small, when the siblings receive the devastating news of Vic’s death, shortly after his marriage to Bella-Mae, which none of them attended. Their combined guilt and anger propel them towards disaster in the search both for his missing will and final painting, with long built-up resentments rising to the surface over one scorching summer in Italy.

Although I didn’t find the majority of the characters in this story very likeable for much of the book, this is a deeply intriguing and engrossing tale of family dynamics, and what happens when the lynchpin is removed. At times tragic, but also funny, this is ultimately a hopeful story of the strength of love within a family.

My first time reading @racheljoyce and i really enjoyed this compelling and fascinating read. A dysfunctional family drama about siblings, love, loss, grief and a little mystery.
It’s well written and the Italian setting is beautifully described. I was engaged from start to finish as the story completely draws you in and you’re immersed in the characters lives as told through different POV’s, with so much tension and disagreements I couldn’t put this book down. The characters are so real.
A moving story which is well worth a read. Definitely recommend if you enjoy this genre.
With thanks to #NetGallery #RandomHouseUk #TransworldPublishers for an arc of #TheHomemadeGod in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 17 April 2025.

This was a family drama surrounding four siblings and their father. Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. I feel like we're seeing a lot of fiction at the moment surrounding domineering, ego-centric artists and their suppression of loved ones who threaten their limelight and this was another in this particular deluge, but one which doesn't stand out for me.

I did not connect or care for any of the characters, they were not relatable and the eventual disentegration of the family unit was difficult to get immersed in. Even the cuckoo in the nest character, Bella-Mae was opaque and unrealistic - I could not get on board with her "wisdom" which seemed to display a maturity beyond her years and felt her behaviour was erratic and unexplained.

The pacing of this novel was centred around the grief-stricken siblings gathering and eventual collapse, but this felt slow and repetitive made other developmental parts of the plot feel rushed.

This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.