The Palm House

"Yes, let’s. Riley’s previous book My Phantoms —about a woman’s difficult relationship with her mother—was very much admired in literary circles. This new novel features two friends, Laura and Edward, who face death and despondency, and balance a precarious life as writers in the British capital. Expect crystalline prose, an unflinching eye, and thoughtful digressions on life and art. This book, Riley’s seventh novel, was reportedly the subject of a six-way auction; Picador, the winning publisher, has described it as her “finest novel yet.”"