Description

‘You don’t have to go back. You will stay here at home, with me. This is where you belong.’

One afternoon, in a little farmhouse in rural Virginia, the ailing Marie Shaw dies in ambiguous circumstances and nothing is ever the same again for the seven young children she left behind. Spanning from the Great Depression to the burgeoning of US counterculture in 1959, Chorus sensitively traces the divergent paths taken by the grieving Shaw siblings as they grow together and apart over the decades. Henry, Jack, Maeve, Lane, Sam, Wendy and Bette get married and divorced, go to war and give birth to children of their own, break down and pick themselves up again.

Chorus is a hopeful story of family, of loss and recovery, of complicated relationships forged between brothers and sisters as they move through life together, and of the unlikely forces that first drive them away and then ultimately back home.

A PRIMA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022

Publisher Review

As vast, clear, and iconic as only timeless stories are, Kauffman's Chorus is a key: meet the Shaw family and discover, in its infinite and invisible complexity, the universal core of your own. -- Rebecca Dinerstein Knight, author of Hex Elegantly charts the nuanced connections and fractures between family members ... always illuminating the sweetness and sorrow that exists in even the smallest detail. -- David Connerley Nahm, author of Ancient Oceans of Central Kentucky A profoundly beautiful and wise novel. ... A pure and true portrait of the lifespan of a family, I'm in awe of Kauffman's skill as a writer and her elegance in the use of it. -- Kathleen MacMahon, author of Nothing But Blue Sky A novel of great subtlety and wisdom, skilfully illuminating the lives of a family in 20th Century America. Chorus wields a quiet, cumulative power to transcendent effect. Each chapter gradually unfolds as a story of goodness, hope and longing emerges, drawing the reader in. -- James Clarke, author of Hollow in the Land Rebecca Kauffman's compact and ingeniously-arranged Chorus depicts the Shaw family and its long-held secrets with admirable clarity ... makes us freshly aware of how the people most dear to us, like the organs of the body, are hidden simply by virtue of being so vital and so close. -- Martin Seay, author of The Mirror Thief Chorus is an intimate, affecting, and exquisite portrait of an American family that feels as real as any I've ever known ... I loved it. -- Eleanor Henderson, author of Ten Thousand Saints A story about love and its resilience, how much we really know about our own family and what binds them together even against seemingly insurmountable odds. * Good Housekeeping March 2022 Book Club pick * Chorus reveals the layers of self and its varied constructions, ultimately creating an honest, multi-layered portrait of a family... speaks to the hopefulness that can reside within families, the unique ability we have as siblings and sons and daughters to at least attempt a return to simpler times of loving and forgiveness * Chicago Review of Books * A beautiful portrait of a family and the stories that echoed through their lives. Spanning over 30 years, Rebecca Kauffman brings drama, pain, and joy to life in every moment. An account of the scars that bind an unforgettable family. -- Luisa Smith, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA * Bookweb March 2022 Indie Next List * Each story-like chapter is so poignant - many with the feel of an Alice Munro story - it's easy to fall under Kauffman's spell ... Chorus is indeed a near-perfect novel, reminding us that even as our losses magnify our flaws, recovery is possible when we have people who love us. * Southern Review of Books * Kauffman's luminous latest showcases her knack for delving into the hearts of her characters . . . Adds up to a superbly executed saga.. * Publisher's Weekly, starred review * Lovely . . Kauffman's writing style renders complex dynamics in simple, impactful language and scenes. * Booklist * Kauffman has written a deceptively light tale about the heart of a family healing around a defining loss and siblings sustaining each other through adulthood, with lovely phrases and prose throughout ... a satisfying story of complicated relationships * Kirkus * Wonderful ... A novel that is a delight to read, the writing pitch-perfect and the story more than satisfying * Metroland Media *