The Wonderful, Saskia Sarginson
The Wonderful, Saskia Sarginson
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The Wonderful

Author: Saskia Sarginson

Narrator: Stephanie Cannon

Unabridged: 11 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/10/2019


Synopsis

“An unusual, bittersweet coming-of-age novel that’s also a fascinating mystery steeped in Cold War history...Sarginson’s novel movingly captures the private and at times painful evolution of a resilient and inventive protagonist.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

A sweeping and turbulent drama about the anxieties of postwar Britain, where one strong and inspirational young woman looks to find her place, no matter the cost.

Sometimes, the truth lies in fiction

It’s hard to be an American girl in 1957. Especially when your dad’s job means you have to move four thousand miles from home. Especially if you’d rather play baseball than wear a dress. Especially if you see your mom fraying a little more from anxiety each day. And especially if being five minutes older means you have to protect your fragile twin brother.

Still, Hedy Delaney loves her family, and she’s trying to make the best of her new life on a U.S. airbase in England. After all, her dad’s a war hero, her mother’s a beauty, and her brother’s a brainiac who writes moving stories about space travel.

Then one tragic day, the unforeseen occurs and all three are ripped away, leaving Hedy alone with countless questions. What really happened on the airbase? What went on behind military closed doors? What were the secrets that could never be told? And how could any of it have led to her family’s destruction?

In her search for the truth, Hedy turns to a story her brother began months before he died. Deciding to finish what her brother started, Hedy begins to piece together what happened to her family. But whether she’s ready for what she’ll discover is another matter entirely.

A sweeping and turbulent family drama, The Wonderful asks whether writing fiction can uncover fact, and if it’s ever better to let the truth remain hidden.

Sometimes, it’s safer not to finish what you’ve started.

About Saskia Sarginson

Saskia Sarginson was awarded an M.A. in creative writing after a B.A. in English literature from Cambridge University. Before becoming a full-time author, she was a health and beauty editor on women's magazines, a ghostwriter for the BBC and HarperCollins, and a copywriter and script editor. She lives in south London with her partner and four children. Her first novel, The Twins, was chosen for the Richard & Judy autumn book club 2013 and received outstanding international review coverage.


Reviews

This will break your heart and fill you with admiration for Hedy, a young woman whose family is torn apart by a series of odd events on a US airbase in the UK in 1957. Her mother Ruby was born in Norfolk but left her brother Ernest and their hard scrabbly farm behind to marry Todd, a US Air Force pi......more

Goodreads review by Latkins

Just want to point out that the edition of this book I read is the one which is out in the UK in March, I couldn't find it on here! Anyway, this is a really great thriller about a woman, Ellie, who runs a tearoom in a small village in Kent, and whose husband dies in a mysterious car crash. She finds......more

Goodreads review by Rachel

This book is beautifully written and takes place over many years which makes it an extra interesting read... and has a very unusual plot and characters. I highly recommend it! Pretty serious/intense book and/but beautiful......more

Goodreads review by Rachel

Very entertaining work. Lots of twists and turns. There is a mystery element to the work but I would not call it a mystery. The work takes place during post WWII, Red Scare England and the 60s 70s. The main character Hedy is the daughter of a US GI and a local English girl. Her brother is her twin a......more