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Brief Description
In 1960s Italy, a family secret rips a teenage girl's world apart, only for her to discover its true meaning decades later. 'Moss makes every moment count' - The Sunday Times 'A book of lasting pleasures' - Eleanor Catton 'Powerful and beautifully written' - The Guardian...
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Ripeness
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From 1960s Italy to present-day Ireland, Ripeness is the story of a family secret that rips apart a teenage girlโs world, only for her to discover its meaning decades later.
The biggest book yet from the bestselling author of Summerwater, Ripeness is a breathtaking story of love, loss and belonging that moves between 1960s Italy and modern day Ireland.
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Description
In 1960s Italy, a family secret rips a teenage girl's world apart, only for her to discover its true meaning decades later.
'Moss makes every moment count' - The Sunday Times
'A book of lasting pleasures' - Eleanor Catton
'Powerful and beautifully written' - The Guardian
Just out of school and teetering on the brink of adulthood, Edith is sent alone to rural Italy. Her task is simple: support her sister Lydia, a brilliant but brittle ballet dancer, through the final weeks of her pregnancy. Once the baby is born, she is to make a phone call that will change all of their lives forever.
Decades later, Edith is living a contented life in Ireland, happily divorced and unexpectedly free. But when her friend Mรฉabh receives an email from a stranger claiming to be her brother, everything shifts. As Mรฉabh confronts a history she never knew she had, Edith must finally face the truth of that long-ago summer, and the secret she has carried for a lifetime.
'Tender and rueful' - Emma Donoghue
'A delicious novel' - Literary Review
'Sublime . . . glorious' - Vogue
'Luminous' - Financial Times
'Beautifully crafted . . . absorbing and moving' - Daily Mail
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781529035520
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 28 May 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Picador
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 20.0mm
Width: 132.0mm
Height: 202.0mm
Weight: 216g
Pages: 304
About the Author
Sarah Moss has written several novels including the Sunday Times top ten bestseller Summerwater, and Ghost Wall, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize. She has also written a memoir of her year living in Iceland. She was born in Glasgow and grew up in the north of England. After moving between Oxford, Canterbury, Reykjavik, west Cornwall and the Midlands, she now lives in Dublin, where she teaches English and creative writing at UCD.
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Ripeness
It is the 60s and, just out of school, Edith finds herself travelling to rural Italy. She has been sent by her mother with strict instructions: to see her sister, ballet dancer Lydia, through the final weeks of her pregnancy, help at the birth and then make a phone call which will seal this baby's fate, and his mother's. Decades...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
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