Description

From the author of My Name is Leon comes an unforgettable story of found family and the love that steals into our lives… in spite of our best laid plans.

‘Tender. Beautifully judged’ Guardian
‘I read this in a sitting, revelling in every word-perfect sentence’ (reader review)
‘De Waal takes an ordinary life and renders it extraordinary’ Monica Ali
‘A beautiful and important story about kindness that will break your heart, then make it sing’ (reader review)
‘Wonderful. De Waal writes brilliantly about forgiveness’ Clare Chambers
‘A profoundly compassionate novel of devastating power’ Bernardine Evaristo

Paulette’s the kind of woman who likes the future all mapped out: the wedding to Denton, the Caribbean honeymoon, the gingham quilt on the baby’s crib. Until one morning Garfield, Denton’s friend, arrives at her door with the news that Denton won’t be coming around any more, that there won’t be time for her to say goodbye.

Somehow Garfield finds his way into her bed, and sooner than anyone can believe there is a baby, and suddenly giving Bird, her son, the best of everything is what gives Paulette’s life meaning.

So why is it another little boy, Nellie, who keeps Paulette awake at night? Nellie who is being raised a few streets away, with no sign of a mum. Surely Paulette is the last person who should be getting tangled up in any of that?

A tender celebration of kindness and its power to change lives, The Best of Everything is one of the most beautiful and uplifting novels you’ll read this year.

Publisher Review

This is a book of such tenderness, full of pain, grief and despair and yet playful and joyful at the same time. Kit de Waal has an uncanny ability to create vivid characters with such empathy that I want to reach into the pages to hug them. I truly loved this book — Liz Nugent, author of Strange Sally Diamond What a wonderful novel, bursting with life. Kit de Waal is a writer who knows all the secret longings of the human heart — Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Ordinary Time Beautiful. De Waal has the power to astound, to lift and console, to make life with her sentences — Donal Ryan, author of The Queen of Dirt Island A profoundly compassionate novel of devastating power and emotional complexity — Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other So deeply moving. Sad and beautiful and true — Annie MacManus, author of The Mess We’re In