We All Want Impossible Things
The funny, moving Richard and Judy Book Club pick 2023
Published on 14. September 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-5291-7722-0 (ISBN)
Description
Discover the powerful Richard & Judy Book Club Pick, perfect for fans of Nora Ephron and Sorrow and Bliss
'Gorgeously tender and so deeply loving' NUSSAIBAH YOUNIS, bestselling author of Fundamentally
'Nora-Ephron-style wit...comforting, so funny, moving... one of my favourite books ever' MARIAN KEYES
'Newman writes loss and laughter in equally brilliant amounts.' BONNIE GARMUS
'Dazzling, heart-wrenching, snorty-hilarious... An utter joy to read' RACHEL JOYCE
_______
Who knows you better than your best friend? Who knows your secrets, your fears, your desires, your strange imperfect self?
Edi and Ash have been best friends for over forty years. Since childhood they have seen each other through life's milestones: stealing vodka from their parents, REM concerts, marriages, infertility, children. As Ash notes, 'Edi's memory is like the back-up hard drive for mine.'
So when Edi is diagnosed with cancer, Ash's world reshapes around the rhythms of Edi's care, from making watermelon ice cubes and music therapy to snack smuggling and impromptu excursions into the frozen winter night.
Because life is about squeezing the joy out of every moment and building a powerhouse of memories, about learning when to hold on, and when to let go.
Deeply moving yet laugh-out-loud funny, We All Want Impossible Things is a jubilant celebration of life and friendship at its imperfect, radiant, and irreverent best.
DISCOVER SANDWICH, the joyful new novel from Catherine Newman and the perfect summer read
_______
Praise for We All Want Impossible Things:
Full of humour, warmth and eye-popping honesty ... a beautiful, candid and uplifting testament to female friendship that will make you laugh and cry - WOMAN & HOME
This tale of love and friendship is tender, funny, life-affirming joy. - MARIE CLAIRE, 'Best Books of 2023'
We All Want Impossible Things is a thing of rare beauty: sweet and sharp, to be devoured, then remembered and loved life-long. - i
Devastatingly funny ... handled with compassion and courage in elegant prose lightened by honest humour. - MAIL ON SUNDAY
A treat - THE SUNDAY TIMES
Remarkable ... A whip-smart, funny, beautifully observed and exquisitely characterised novel about how even the deepest of losses can be accompanied by a joyous affirmation of life. - OBSERVER
Imbued with love and humour ... this special book is in a class of its own. - EVENING STANDARD
Newman's clearsighted and bracingly funny first novel is a moving celebration of friendship, love and cherished memories - DAILY MAIL
Utterly life-affirming and joyful - RED
'You'll stay up late devouring every word' KATHERINE HEINY
'One of the best novels on friendship I've ever read' AJ PEARCE
'An absolute masterpiece in characterisation... utterly beautiful.' JOANNA CANNON
'I absolutely adored this...what a beautiful, emotional novel' JILL MANSELL
'Shot through with whip-smart humour and boundless compassion. It's one of the best debuts I've read in a long time.' HANNAH BECKERMAN
'Gorgeously tender and so deeply loving' NUSSAIBAH YOUNIS, bestselling author of Fundamentally
'Nora-Ephron-style wit...comforting, so funny, moving... one of my favourite books ever' MARIAN KEYES
'Newman writes loss and laughter in equally brilliant amounts.' BONNIE GARMUS
'Dazzling, heart-wrenching, snorty-hilarious... An utter joy to read' RACHEL JOYCE
_______
Who knows you better than your best friend? Who knows your secrets, your fears, your desires, your strange imperfect self?
Edi and Ash have been best friends for over forty years. Since childhood they have seen each other through life's milestones: stealing vodka from their parents, REM concerts, marriages, infertility, children. As Ash notes, 'Edi's memory is like the back-up hard drive for mine.'
So when Edi is diagnosed with cancer, Ash's world reshapes around the rhythms of Edi's care, from making watermelon ice cubes and music therapy to snack smuggling and impromptu excursions into the frozen winter night.
Because life is about squeezing the joy out of every moment and building a powerhouse of memories, about learning when to hold on, and when to let go.
Deeply moving yet laugh-out-loud funny, We All Want Impossible Things is a jubilant celebration of life and friendship at its imperfect, radiant, and irreverent best.
DISCOVER SANDWICH, the joyful new novel from Catherine Newman and the perfect summer read
_______
Praise for We All Want Impossible Things:
Full of humour, warmth and eye-popping honesty ... a beautiful, candid and uplifting testament to female friendship that will make you laugh and cry - WOMAN & HOME
This tale of love and friendship is tender, funny, life-affirming joy. - MARIE CLAIRE, 'Best Books of 2023'
We All Want Impossible Things is a thing of rare beauty: sweet and sharp, to be devoured, then remembered and loved life-long. - i
Devastatingly funny ... handled with compassion and courage in elegant prose lightened by honest humour. - MAIL ON SUNDAY
A treat - THE SUNDAY TIMES
Remarkable ... A whip-smart, funny, beautifully observed and exquisitely characterised novel about how even the deepest of losses can be accompanied by a joyous affirmation of life. - OBSERVER
Imbued with love and humour ... this special book is in a class of its own. - EVENING STANDARD
Newman's clearsighted and bracingly funny first novel is a moving celebration of friendship, love and cherished memories - DAILY MAIL
Utterly life-affirming and joyful - RED
'You'll stay up late devouring every word' KATHERINE HEINY
'One of the best novels on friendship I've ever read' AJ PEARCE
'An absolute masterpiece in characterisation... utterly beautiful.' JOANNA CANNON
'I absolutely adored this...what a beautiful, emotional novel' JILL MANSELL
'Shot through with whip-smart humour and boundless compassion. It's one of the best debuts I've read in a long time.' HANNAH BECKERMAN
Reviews / Votes
Gorgeously tender and so deeply loving * NUSSAIBAH YOUNIS, bestselling author of FUNDAMENTALLY * Rather a treat ... this novel is less about death than it is about life - the messy unpredictability, hideous unfairness and perplexity of it, as well as its one magnificent certainty: love. * THE SUNDAY TIMES * Remarkable ... A whip-smart, funny, beautifully observed and exquisitely characterised novel about how even the deepest of losses can be accompanied by a joyous affirmation of life. * OBSERVER * Imbued with love and humour ... this special book is in a class of its own. * EVENING STANDARD * Newman's clearsighted and bracingly funny first novel is a moving celebration of friendship, love and cherished memories * DAILY MAIL * One of the funniest books I've ever read ... so much detail and nuance ... fast-paced at times and then really beautifully slow. -- Fearne Cotton * STYLIST * I adored this book. Jubilant, devastating, tender, heartbreaking, I found myself both in tears and 'snorty-laughing'. I know it will be one of those novels I return to time and time again, and recommend to everyone. There is so much love, funniness, honesty, courage, mess, bounce and surprise in this book, and not shred of it is mawkish. Loss might be the central theme but it is also the most robust and glorious affirmation of life. A masterclass on friendship, family love, memory, and the messiness of life and love and dying. Pure genius. * RACHEL JOYCE * Breezy New York Nora-Ephron-style wit meets hospice memoir to create something profoundly beautiful...comforting, so funny, moving but never mawkish and packed with all kinds of love. It's one of my favourite books ever. * MARIAN KEYES * Tragically funny, with moments of clarity and wisdom, Newman writes loss and laughter in equally brilliant amounts. * BONNIE GARMUS, author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY * I have heard nothing but good things about [We All Want Impossible Things] and they were all quite right - it's so warm and funny and full of great observations ... it looks set for rip-roaring success, deservedly so! * CLARE CHAMBERS, author of SMALL PLEASURES *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 124 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
196 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5291-7722-0 (9781529177220)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Catherine Newman
We All Want Impossible Things
The uplifting and moving Richard and Judy Book Club pick
E-Book
11/2022
Transworld Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Catherine Newman is the New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich and We All Want Impossible Things, which was also chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club. She is also the author of the memoirs Catastrophic Happiness and Waiting for Birdy, and the bestselling children's book How to be a Person. She is a regular contributor to the New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine, Cup of Jo, and many other publications. She writes the Substack newsletter Crone Sandwich and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her family.