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The Giant on the Skyline

On Home, Belonging and Learning to Let Go

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

What is it that makes a home? What is a home without the roots that tie you to a place? What is a home when a family is split?

Clover's eldest children are leaving home for university. Her husband Pete's work is in America. The only way for Clover and the younger children to live with him is to uproot, leave their rural life near the ancient Ridgeway in Oxfordshire and move to Washington DC. Forced to leave the home she loves and consider these questions, Clover sets out to explore the place where she lives, walk the Ridgway, understand a little of the history of her landscape and work out why it is that it is so hard for her to go. In doing so she paints a beautifully layered portrait of family, community and of belonging in a landscape that has drawn people to it for generation after generation.

©2024 Clover Stroud (P)2024 Penguin Audio Parenting & Families Relationships Social Sciences Marriage

Critic reviews

'Clover Stroud is a fearless explorer of the human heart, and a writer of incomparable grace and passion.' Elizabeth Gilbert

'Clover's writing is sensationally beautiful.' Laura Cumming

'Stroud's writing is knife-sharp, beautiful and profound.' Madeline Miller
All stars
Most relevant
This book has been a giant hug for me. Clover’s journey from the milky white chalk land of her beloved England to the US iron oxide tinted clay brick walls of her new temporary nest. Every chapter was an utter joy.
I can’t express how much I adore this piece of work. I too have the love of my home place running in my vains. I ache for the landscape of my childhood. Thank you Clover so much for your writings from your inner voice. 💚

A giant hug

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I love Clover Strouds’ books. This one about home was very interesting. Her descriptions, particularly of the natural world and her horses are magical and she’s a brilliant narrator. I really enjoyed this and could listen to her all day. Thank you Clover Stroud 💖

Beautiful and mesmerising

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I love Clover’s writing and the way that she makes connections with people, places and the landscapes that she inhabits. She is never frightened of going to places that are painful and difficult in her quest to understand and make sense of life.

Brave and Honest

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Beautifully written from the heart. A touching memoir of the process of understanding home, whether place, people or landscape. Absolutely captivating, soothing, challenging and honest. I loved it.

So beautifully written and read.

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Lyrically written and so resonant of a landscape I know the magic of and love, alongside the concept of what home is. Clover Stroud shares such profound honesty with her reader that you feel connected to her and the raw power of her emotions. There is a clear thread of narrative throughout which kept me listening and deeply involved. A wonderful memoir.

Real, raw and a moving story, in so many ways!

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