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When We Were Bad

By Charlotte Mendelson
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
When We Were Bad follows the Rubin family in North London during a moment of crisis and revelation. Claudia Rubin, a wife, mother, and rabbi, is at the centre of what should be a joyful wedding celebration for her son Leoβ€”until he unexpectedly jilts his bride. This disruptive act threatens to unravel the family's carefully maintained appearance. Frances, Claudia's daughter, tries to keep the family united but is forced to confront her own life choices. Meanwhile, Claudia’s husband Norman harbours a secret that threatens to come to light. The story is a witty and poignant literary comedy exploring family dynamics, love, and denial.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This novel appeals to readers who appreciate literary fiction with sharp wit and emotional depth, particularly those interested in complex family relationships and contemporary social themes. Fans of intelligent, character-driven narratives and those looking for a comedy infused with warmth and insightful observation will find this book engaging.

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Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction, Charlotte Mendelson's When We Were Bad is a darkly comic and beautiful portrayal of a family in crisis

'The Rubin family, everybody agrees, seems doomed to happiness.'

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

When We Were Bad is a spellbinding, witty and poignant portrayal of a family in crisis, in love, and in denial.

'As intelligent as it is funny. A beautifully observed literary comedy as well as a painfully accurate description of one big old family mess. A joy' - Observer

In North London, Claudia Rubin is in her heyday. Wife, mother, rabbi - and sometimes moral voice of the nation - everyone wants to be with her at her son Leo's glorious wedding. That is, until Leo jilts his bride, and the gleaming bubble surrounding the Rubins threatens to burst.

Frances - Claudia's calm, mature, married daughter - tries to hold the nucleus of the family together, but the stress forces her to re-examine her own life, leading her to make a decision as shocking as Leo's choice to bolt.

And Claudia's husband, Norman, has an uncharacteristic secret. And, whether he likes it or not, he is powerless to stop it coming out...

'A comedy with the warmest of hearts and the most deliciously subversive of agendas' - Marie Claire

'Fast-paced and engaging. Brilliant, touching and true' - Naomi Alderman, bestselling author of The Power

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised for its intelligence and humour, When We Were Bad is described as a beautifully observed comedy and an accurate portrayal of a family in turmoil. Critics highlight its fast pace, emotional truth, and universal appeal examining themes of sex, spirituality, domesticity, and expectation. The book is commended for its brilliance, inventiveness, and heartfelt yet subversive tone, making it a joyous and dazzling portrait of family life.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781035020195

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 August 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Picador

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 27.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 241g

Pages: 336

Collections

Charlotte Mendelson Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction

About the Author

Charlotte Mendelson's novels include Daughters of Jerusalem, When We Were Bad, Almost English, and The Exhibitionist. She has won both the Somerset Maugham Award and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, has been longlisted for the Man Booker, and has been longlisted and shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction. She is also the author of one work of non-fiction, Rhapsody in Green, and is the gardening correspondent for The New Yorker. She lives in London.

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  • Rhapsody in Green: A Writer, an Obsession, a Laughably Small Excuse for a Vegetable Garden
    Excellent book. Nigella Lawson Charming, inspiring, uplifting... pure lovely. Marian Keyes Read Rhapsody in Green. A novelist's beautiful, useful essays about her tiny garden. India Knight Glorious...for anyone who loves fruit, vegetables, herbs and language. It makes you see them with new eyes. Diana Henry A witty account of 'extreme allotmenteering' for all obsessive gardeners Mail on Sunday An extremely...
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  • Almost English
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    The multi award-winning Charlotte Mendelson is famous for whipping up the hottest, messiest family dramas a writer of literary fiction can . . . This is late Shakespeare meets Modern Family and it's irresistible - The Times In a tiny flat in West London, sixteen-year-old Marina lives with her emotionally delicate mother and three ancient Hungarian relatives. Imprisoned by her...
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  • Daughters of Jerusalem
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    Beautifully written and bitingly funny, Charlotte Mendelson's prize-winning Daughters of Jerusalem is a gripping novel of hidden love and hate, of the desire to belong, and the need for escape. Amidst the crumbling yellow stone of Oxford and its prestigious university, secrets are stirring within the Lux family home... Jean, the constrained and guilt-ridden wife of an academic, is waiting...
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  • The Exhibitionist
    The Exhibitionist
    A Times, Guardian, and Good Housekeeping Book of the Year for 2022 Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 'It takes the most ferocious intelligence, skill, and a deep reservoir of sadness to write a novel as funny as this. I adored it' - Meg Mason, bestselling author of Sorrow & Bliss Meet the Hanrahan family. Ray, the father. Acclaimed...
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  • Wife
    Wife
    'One of the funniest writers in Britain' - The Guardian Set in the world of London academia, both past and present, Wife by Charlotte Mendelson is heart-breaking and funny, profound and gripping, as it takes the reader from the end of a relationship to its beginning, and back again. When Zoe moves in with Penny, their relationship looks perfect; after...
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    'Crackles with female fire and fury' - The Guardian 'A bravura portrait of a marriage in meltdown' - The Observer 'Fast and furious' - The Sunday Times Discover the bitingly witty new novel from the prize-winning author of The Exhibitionist, Charlotte Mendelson. Dr Penny Cartwright is everything that Zoe Stamper is not: glamorous, sophisticated and openly gay. When they begin...
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  • Wife
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