A combustive family saga about four Irish sisters who discover the dangerous power of concealed secrets
The lives of four sisters begin to unravel when one of them disappears, in this thought-provoking, sharply comic Irish novel
EQUAL PARTS HILARIOUS AND PROFOUND, THE ALTERNATIVES IS A POWERFUL NEW NOVEL ABOUT FOUR GIFTED IRISH SISTERS, FROM A MAJOR LITERARY VOICE. PERFECT FOR FANS OF JONATHAN FRANZEN, MAGGIE O'FARRELL AND CLAIRE VAYE WATKINS.
Olwen was plunged prematurely into adulthood when her parents died in tragic circumstances. She and her three younger sisters – each single, each with a PhD – are now in their thirties and leading disparate, distanced lives. Until one day Olwen, a geologist haunted by a terrible awareness of the Earth's future, abruptly vanishes from her home.
Together for the first time in years, her three siblings descend on the Irish countryside in search of a sister who doesn't actually want to be found. In an isolated rural bungalow they reach into their uncommon past, confronting both old wounds and a desperately uncertain future.
Fiercely witty and unexpectedly hopeful, The Alternatives is an unforgettable portrait of a family perched on our collective precipice, told by one of Ireland's most gifted storytellers.
‘The Alternatives is both a book of ideas and a gripping read, formally audacious yet deeply humane. Superb.’ Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind
'Hughes’s best novel yet. With its ferocious intelligence and furious wit, the writing is reminiscent of Anne Enright.' Guardian
'Superb is the only word for this novel… A timely, sly and frequently hilarious read.' Irish Times
'Exuberant... A bold, beautiful, complex novel, and I can’t wait to read what Hughes writes next. She, too, is an unstoppable force.' New York Times
'It's just glorious. If it doesn't end up on a hatload of award shortlists by the end of the year, I will eat an actual real-world hat.' Irish Independent
'Caoilinn Hughes is one of the most intelligent, surprising, and delightful writers around. The Alternatives made me laugh, cry, and think.' Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses
'A constantly surprising story of sisterhood and survival... It’s a brainy novel, full of ideas about life and how to live it – both now and in a disrupted future.' Mail on Sunday
'I wish I knew how Caoilinn Hughes has managed to write a book of such depth and gravity that is also so gripping and relentlessly funny.' Hernan Diaz, author of Trust
'I've admired all Caoilinn Hughes' books, and this one is a triumph, searching and clever and warm and funny.' Sarah Moss, author of Ghost Wall
'Beautiful... The Alternatives is both a book of ideas and a gripping read, formally audacious yet deeply humane. Superb.' Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind
'Bold, witty and intellectual... An exciting book, a book of intelligent women that very successfully plays with form and intertwined big ideas.' Sunday Independent
'A witty, bittersweet and often stylistically bold exploration of blood ties and chosen family.' New York Times Book Review, Editor's Choice
'The Alternatives, the new novel by Caoilinn Hughes, is written in a style that is chiselled and it's filled with tones that are vivid and witty and sharply original.' Colm Toíbín, author of The Magician
'The new novel from rising Irish star Hughes is a thought-provoking, gorgeously written look at the meaning of sisterhood and the many ways of showing care.' Good Housekeeping
'Hughes's elegiac romp into our collective crises erupts in gorgeous language and sizzles with wit, yet is undergirded by pathos. A shapeshifter of a writer, she can draw any character, any foible with crystalline precision.' Diane Cook, author of The New Wilderness
'The Alternatives is fizzy, brainy, and brilliant, always at the service of a drama of great emotional power. Caoilinn Hughes is an extraordinarily gifted writer.' Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland
‘The Alternatives is vintage Caoilinn Hughes—sharp, funny and philosophical, and very much a novel for our times.’ Carys Davies, author of The Mission House
'In The Alternatives, Hughes manages to make us both wish we had four flawed, intense sisters, and be grateful we don't. There is much humour, much sharpness, and Hughes' is a unique, honest, powerful voice. The sentences are sizzling, glittering, often taking off in unexpected and delightful directions. It is a novel to love as a reader, but equally as much as a writer: it makes me want to write. Stunning.' Jenny Mustard, author of Okay Days
'A novel so full of verve that one gains energy from reading it. The prose is a delight, and the force of the author’s intelligence would be overwhelming if not for its warmth and wit.' Jing-Jing Lee, author of How We Disappeared
'A novel of tiny, telling details alongside big ideas... The Alternatives contains multitudes. Its mysteries and complexities reward a second reading... The book's ending is a stunner. And Olwen, Maeve, Nell and Rhona make it unforgettable.' Star Tribune
'Engaging and impressive.' Irish Examiner
'Hughes's warm and engaging novel takes a searching look at our deepest connections, with family and nature.' Daily Mail
'Hughes, one of my very favourite Irish writers, is soaringly original and takes us to unusual places and circumstances. Here, her wily observations and caustic humour enliven the invisible currents of family connection.' Sydney SA Weekend
'[The sisters'] conversations sparkle with humour and wit... A fantastic whirlwind of a novel, The Alternatives throws down the gauntlet on everything from climate change and deliberative democracy to the fundamentrals of authenticity and integrity. The final scene is as extraordinary as it is unexpected, yet somehow absolutely right.' New Internationalist
'Hughes's writing is not only profoundly intelligent, but also imbued with a sharp wit and humour… Hughes deftly demonstrates the importance of friendship and sisterhood, with a real sense of community and human connection beautifully evoked throughout the book.' NB Magazine
'I'm generally dazzled by her capacities as a novelist but I'm always especially struck by writers who display skills I fear I lack – and as well as being a great prose stylist and deep thinker Hughes is blissfully, effortlessly funny: I envy her!' Sarah Perry, author of Enlightenment
'Profoundly moving in its delicacy...The Alternatives, strewn with gorgeous prose, is a rare jewel, one to be read and read again.' RTE
'Rangy, funny, original, sinuous - the sentences are sparky, unexpected, super-smart and the overall control is immense.' Kevin Barry, author of Night Boat to Tangier, 'Books of the Year', Irish Independent
'This hefty novel fairly zips along thanks to Hughes' gift for lively, energetic characters with a huge amount of depth. This tells the story of four annoyingly intelligent Flattery sisters, one of whom – Olwen – tires of her situation and flees for the countryside. Her sisters follow, but can they figure out why she left?' The Journal
'My standout favourite of 2024 was The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes. Three Irish sisters come together to locate their eldest sibling who has left her home one night and disappeared off-grid. Its brilliant story swirls around subjects like the climate crisis, class, political representation, responsibility and philosophy.' Rick O'Shea
'Fiercely witty, unexpectedly hopeful and unashamedly intelligent.' Irish Times, '100 Best Irish books of the 21st-century'
'Told from the perspectives of all four sisters, this deeply thoughtful, richly descriptive novel offers insight into sisterhood and a connection to place while guiding the reader on a journey across Ireland.' Observer
Caoilinn Hughes is the author of THE WILD LAUGHTER (2020), which won the Royal Society of Literature's Encore Award and was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her first novel, ORCHID & THE WASP (2018) won the Collyer Bristow Prize and was longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. Her short stories have won the Irish Book Awards' Story of the Year, The Moth Short Story Prize, and an O.Henry Prize. She was recently Oscar Wilde Writer Fellow at Trinity College Dublin and a Cullman Center Fellow at New York Public Library. A New York Times’ Editor’s Choice, her third novel is THE ALTERNATIVES (2024).
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