Through one man’s unique story, Jon McGregor pays homage to ‘ordinary’ lives, and explores how chance constantly alters the course of events.

David Carter cannot help but wish for more: that his wife Eleanor would be the sparkling girl he once found so irresistible; that his job as a museum curator could live up to the promise it once held; that his daughter’s arrival could have brought him closer to Eleanor. But a few careless words spoken by his mother’s friend have left David restless with the knowledge that his whole life has been constructed around a lie.

Longlisted
The Man Booker Prize 2006
Published by
Bloomsbury
Publication date

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Jon McGregor

Jon McGregor

About the Author

Jon McGregor, aged 26, became the Booker Prize’s youngest nominee when his first novel was longlisted. His second and fourth novels would also go on to be nominated.
More about Jon McGregor

Other nominated books by Jon McGregor

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