Bøger af Ashley Audrain

A propulsive page-turner about four families whose lives are changed when the unthinkable happens—and what is lost when we give in to our own worst impulsesOn Harlow Street, the well-to-do neighborhood couples and their children gather for a catered barbecue as the summer winds down; drinks continue late into the night.Everything is fabulous until the picture-perfect hostess explodes in fury because her son disobeys her. Everyone at the party hears her exquisite veneer crack—loud and clear. Before long, that same young boy falls from his bedside window in the middle of the night. And then, his mother can only sit by her son’s hospital bed, where she refuses to speak to anyone, and his life hangs in the balance.What happens next, over the course of a tense three days, as each of these women grapple with what led to that terrible night?Exploring envy, women’s friendships, desire, and the intuitions that we silence, The Whispers is a chilling novel that marks Audrain as a major women's fiction talent.

"A propulsive page-turner about four families whose lives are changed when the unthinkable happens-and what is lost when we give in to our own worst impulses On Harlow Street, the well-to-do neighborhood couples and their children gather for a catered barbecue as the summer winds down; drinks continue late into the night. Everything is fabulous until the picture-perfect hostess explodes in fury because her son disobeys her. Everyone at the party hears her exquisite veneer crack-loud and clear. Before long, that same young boy falls from his bedside window in the middle of the night. And then, his mother can only sit by her son's hospital bed, where she refuses to speak to anyone, and his life hangs in the balance. What happens next, over the course of a tense three days, as each of these women grapple with what led to that terrible night? Exploring envy, women's friendships, desire, and the intuitions that we silence, The Whispers is a chilling novel that marks Audrain as a major women's fiction talent"--

"The Loverlys sit by the hospital bed of their young son who is in a coma after falling from his bedroom window in the middle of the night; his mother, Whitney, will not speak to anyone. Back home, their friends and neighbors are left in shock, each confronting their own role in the events that led up to what happened that terrible night: the warm, altruistic Parks who are the Loverlys' best friends; the young, ambitious Goldsmiths who are struggling to start a family of their own; and the quiet, elderly Portuguese couple who care for their adult son with a developmental disability, and who pass the long days on the front porch, watching their neighbors go about their busy lives. The story spins out over the course of one week, in the alternating voices of the women in each family as they are forced to face the secrets within the walls of their own homes, and the uncomfortable truths that connect them all to one another. Set against the heartwrenching drama of what will happen to Xavier, who hangs between death and life, or a life changed forever, THE WHISPERS is a novel about what happens when we put our needs ahead of our children's. Exploring the quiet sacrifices of motherhood, the intuitions that we silence, the complexities of our closest friendships, and the danger of envy, this is a novel about the reverberations of life's most difficult decisions." --

Et medrivende psykologisk drama om en families skabelse og destruktion.Blythe O’Connor ønsker ikke, at historien skal gentage sig. Violet er hendes første barn, og hun vil give hende al den kærlighed, hun fortjener. Den kærlighed, Blythe ikke selv fik af sin egen mor. Men det er aldrig nemt at blive forælder, og Violet er ikke noget nemt barn. Hun smiler aldrig, og snart føler Blythe, at hun gør alting forkert – og at der muligvis er noget alvorligt galt, enten med hende selv eller datteren. Hendes mand Fox siger at det er noget, hun bilder sig ind, men Violet er heller ikke på samme måde, når hun er sammen med sin far. Og han forstår ikke, hvad Blythe måtte gennemgå, da hun var barn. Det er der ingen, der gør.Blythe vil gerne være en god mor. Men hvad nu hvis det ikke er nok for Violet? Eller Fox? Og hvad nu, hvis hun bare ikke bemærker mørket, der kommer snigende?Mor og datter. Engel eller monster? Vi vælger ikke selv hvad vi arver, eller hvem vi bliver til …Instinktet er en kraftpræstation af et drama, den slags bog man bare ikke kan lægge fra sig. Den tvinger sin læser til at stille spørgsmålstegn ved alt hvad vi ved om forældreskab, hvad vi skylder vores børn, og hvad der sker, når det at blive mor vækker dyb rædsel nærmere end stor lykke.

Et gribende psykologisk drama om en families skabelse og ødelæggelse.Blythe O'Connor ønsker ikke, at historien gentager sig. Violet er hendes første barn og skal give hende al den kærlighed, hun har brug for. Den kærlighed, Blythe ikke fik fra sin egen mor. Men det er aldrig let at være forælder, og Violet er bestemt ikke noget let barn at håndtere. Hun smiler aldrig, og snart fik Blythe den idé om, at hun fejlede med alt - og at hun eller hendes datter kunne være i alvorlige problemer. Fox, hendes mand siger, at det var noget, hun forestillede sig, men Violet er også helt anderledes, når hun var sammen med sin far. Og han kan ikke gennemskue, hvad Blythe var igennem  som barn. Det er der ingen, der gør.Blythe vil være en god mor. Men tænk hvis det ikke er tilstrækkeligt for Violet? Eller Fox? Hvad hvis hun ikke bemærkede det nærliggende mørke? Mor og datter. Engel eller monster? Vi vælger ikke, hvad vi skal arve, eller hvem vi ender med at blive til. ‘Instinktet’ er et fantastisk drama og den slags bog, man ikke bare lægger fra sig igen, når man først er begyndt. Det fremkalder en dybere frygt hos læserne og tvinger dem til at stille spørgsmålstegn ved alt omkring forældreskab, hvad vi skylder vores børn, og hvad der sker, når det at blive forældre vækker en stor frygt frem for en stor glæde.