Description

‘Moggach is at the height of her powers with this book, which moves from a beautifully observed comedy of middle-class life to an immensely moving celebration of two imperfect marriages’ Sunday Times

An unforgettable novel about age, caring and with a twist you won’t see coming…

‘A cracking, crackling social comedy, with some brilliant observations about ageing and a devilish plot twist’ The Times

From the bestselling author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a deliciously funny, poignant and wry novel, full of surprising twists and turns:

James is getting on a bit and needs full-time help. So Phoebe and Robert, his middle-aged offspring, employ Mandy, who seems willing to take him off their hands. But as James regales his family with tales of Mandy’s virtues, their shopping trips and the shared pleasure of their journeys to garden centres, Phoebe and Robert sense something is amiss.

Then something extraordinary happens which throws everything into new relief, changing all the stories of their childhood – and the father – that they thought they knew so well.

‘A world full of charm, warmth and pitch-perfect humour…punctuated by Moggach’s blistering truths about the sorrowful threads that bind families together’ Sunday Express

‘Joyous’ Daily Mail

What readers say about THE CARER:

‘Comedy and reality and some delicious writing – what a pleasure!’

‘What a wonderful story; full of so many unusual twists and turns whilst still being wholly believable’

‘Beautifully written. You think you know where this is going? Well, you’re completely wrong! Certainly worthy of five stars for writing, content, and how much I enjoyed reading this book’

‘Moggach’s characterisations are, as ever, superb’

Publisher Review

A wry, witty and wise novel, full of insight and understanding' * Susie Boyt * The most endearing of humorists, Deborah Moggach casts a penetrating eye on our foibles and fantasies. Neither ageing, nor death - as The Carer so beautifully demonstrates - can resist her comic scrutiny * Lisa Appignanesi * Lit up a dull day with its warmth and wit * Tessa Hadley * Beautifully written, oozing interesting characters that you genuinely care about -- Adele Parks Deborah Moggach's warm heart and cool eye for hilarious British idiosyncrasies are both on top form here - I laughed like a drain. Specially at the hippy Lothario in the wet Welsh woods -- Louisa Young The Carer will ring bells for any reader with parents reaching the grab-rail stage of life but proves as touching as it's funny. Moggach writes in the best funny-ouch tradition, her humour always rooted in acute observation of our frailties and appetites -- Patrick Gale I just loved it - so touching and wise and funny, full of all the lovely touches that Debby is so good at. She draws characters so deftly; you begin to think you know them from the smallest of observations. They're all so human! -- Sabine Durrant Good, rollicking, and occasionally, what with the file of evasions, duplicity and fractured emotion, wounding and reflective stuff * Private Eye * Moving and funny * Good Housekeeping * A witty tale, with beautifully drawn characters * Best * A sharp, witty, characteristically generous and gallopingly readable novel * Readers Digest * This joyous novel ... a sustained satire on smug middle-class mores, like a deranged Archers omnibus. Can there be higher praise? -- Wendy Holden * Daily Mail * I love her book - and this one especially. It's marvellous. -- India Knight Surprising, funny and certain to have more than one reader wincing in recognition * The i * Wickedly, witty entertainment. Moggach is so very good at describing the ordinary, she transforms it into the unusual, shocking and fascinating. Behind the normality of people's lives there often lies an extraordinary story. It's this that Moggach tells with insight, acute observation of character and mordant humour. The Carer is an immediately relevant work, a fiction anchored in reality * Spectator * If you enjoyed THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, there's a chance you'll love the author's new novel even more. A heartwarming triumph * Woman & Home * Moggach addresses an all too common nightmare with ruthless honesty and sublime wit - The Carer is one of the funniest novels I have read for ages -- Kate Saunders * The Times * Infuses the subject with her trademark humour and pathos, reshaping a societal dilemma into a family drama, by turns compelling and surprising - her nuanced characterisations make the subject matter really come alive -- Hannah Beckerman * Observer * This is a world full of charm, warmth and pitch-perfect humour, but it is also a world punctuated by Moggach's blistering truths on the tangled, sorrowful threads of resentment and disappointment that bind families together * Sunday Express, S Mag * Moggach's latest is full of warmth and humour as well as blistering truths about the sorrowful threads that bind families * Daily Mirror * A cracking, crackling social comedy with some brilliant people observations about ageing and a devilish plot twist -- Robbie Millen * The Times * Moggach is at the height of her powers with this book, which moves from a beautifully observed comedy of middle-class life to an immensely moving celebration of two imperfect marriages * Sunday Times * Unputdownable, fun and tender with characters that jump off the page. Perfection -- Marian Keyes