NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Told with urgency, intimacy, and piercing emotion, this
New York Times
bestselling novel is the riveting confession of a woman awakened, transformed, and abandoned by a desire for a world beyond her own
.
A
New York Times Book Review
Notable Book • A
Washington Post
Top Ten Book of the Year • A
Chicago Tribune
Noteworthy Book • A
Huffington Post
Best Book • A
Boston Globe
Best Book of the Year • A
Kirkus
Best Fiction Book • A Goodreads Best Book
"Exhilarating... Ingenious... an intricate puzzle of self-belief and self-doubt.” —
The New York Times Book Review
Nora Eldridge is a reliable, but unremarkable, friend and neighbor, always on the fringe of other people’s achievements. But the arrival of the Shahid family—dashing Skandar, a Lebanese scholar, glamorous Sirena, an Italian artist, and their son, Reza—draws her into a complex and exciting new world. Nora’s happiness pushes her beyond her boundaries, until Sirena’s careless ambition leads to a shattering betrayal.