Instructions for a Heatwave cover art

Instructions for a Heatwave

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About this listen

The stunning new novel from Costa-Novel-Award-winning novelist Maggie O'Farrell: a portrait of an Irish family in crisis in the legendary heatwave of 1976.

It's July 1976. In London, it hasn't rained for months, gardens are filled with aphids, water comes from a standpipe and Robert Riordan tells his wife Gretta that he's going round the corner to buy a newspaper. He doesn't come back.

The search for Robert brings Gretta's children - two estranged sisters and a brother on the brink of divorce - back home, each with different ideas as to where their father might have gone. None of them suspects that their mother might have an explanation that even now she cannot share.

©2013 Maggie O'Farrell (P)2013 Headline Digital Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Heartfelt
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The story jumped about too much from current time to past situations, quite confusing really.

Not bad!

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Narration really added to the story, made it very interesting and enjoyable. Would recommend you read.

Really interesting book, great narrator.

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I adore Maggie O’Farrells style of writing, she paints beautiful pictures, but in this book there were no characters I liked and everyone was so angry. My least favourite of her novels…

Disappointed

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She us such a great writer. Every character is believable and the muddies they make of their lives believable too. I loved this, and the narration was spot on.

Perfectly crafted

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The Narrater was excellent
The story by Maggie O’Farrell is just so incredibly well observed. The detail of how people think and never say what they mean , yet its all done with un judgemental love that makes this such a brilliant book to read. It helps you understand other people better.
Loved it ! Such brilliant writing.

Brilliant narration of such a delicate well written story

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