A Sunday Times Top 100 Novel Of The Twenty-first Century'funny, Poignant, Savage, Tender And Appalling.' Helen Dunmore'one Of The Most Intelligent Current Interpreters Of Domestic Life.' Catherine Taylor, Independent On Sunday'tender, Haunting, Grimly Comic And Infinitely Disturbing.' Evening Standardarlington Park Is An Ordinary English Suburb. Over The Course Of A Single Day, The Novel Moves From One Household To Another, Revealing Its Characters: Juliet, Enraged At The Victory Of Men Over Women In Family Life; Amanda, Warding Off Thoughts Of Death With Obsessive Housework; Solly, About To Give Birth To Her Fourth Child; Maisie, Struggling To Accept Provincial Life; And Christine, The Optimist And Host Of A Dinner Party Where The Neighbours Come Together.