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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK BY PEOPLE AND PARADE • The New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had (“wonderfully immersive…deliciously absorbing”—NPR) returns with another brilliantly observed family drama in which the enduring, hard-won affection of a long marriage faces imminent derailment from events both past and present.

“Infidelity, dysfunction, secrets – this family novel delivers.”—The New York Times • “Lombardo has such a fine eye for the weft and warp of a family’s fabric.” —The Washington Post • “Witty and insightful…a powerful exploration of marriage, motherhood, and self.”–Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

Same As It Ever Was showcases the consummate style, signature wit, and profound emotional intelligence that made The Most Fun We Ever Had one of the most beloved novels of the past decade. Featuring a memorably messy family and the multifaceted marriage at its heart, Lombardo’s debut was dubbed “the literary love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler” (The Guardian) and hailed as “ambitious and brilliantly written” (Washington Post). In this remarkable follow-up—another elegant and tumultuous story in the tradition of Elizabeth Strout, Ann Patchett, and Celeste Ng—Lombardo introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters, this time by way of her singularly complicated protagonist.

Julia Ames, after a youth marked by upheaval and emotional turbulence, has found herself on the placid plateau of mid-life. But Julia has never navigated the world with the equanimity of her current privileged class. Having nearly derailed herself several times, making desperate bids for the kind of connection that always felt inaccessible to her, she finally feels, at age fifty seven, that she has a firm handle on things.

She’s unprepared, though, for what comes next: a surprise announcement from her straight-arrow son, an impending separation from her spikey teenaged daughter, and a seductive resurgence of the past, all of which threaten to draw her back into the patterns that had previously kept her on a razor’s edge.

Same As It Ever Was traverses the rocky terrain of real life, —exploring new avenues of maternal ambivalence, intergenerational friendship, and the happenstantial cause-and-effect that governs us all. Delving even deeper into the nature of relationships—how they grow, change, and sometimes end—Lombardo proves herself a true and definitive cartographer of the human heart and asserts herself among the finest novelists of her generation.

From the Publisher

Witty and insightful says Bonnie GarmusWitty and insightful says Bonnie Garmus

Masterful writes People MagazineMasterful writes People Magazine

You need to read this says Ericka WallerYou need to read this says Ericka Waller

This family novel delivers writes The New York TimesThis family novel delivers writes The New York Times

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 18, 2024
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385549555
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385549554
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.43 x 1.56 x 9.57 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #116,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #319 in Women’s Domestic Life Fiction #586 in Literary Fiction (Books) #1,421 in Mothers & Children Fiction
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