Expectation
The most razor-sharp and heartbreaking novel of the year
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4.1 • 186 Ratings
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Publisher Description
THE MUST-READ SUMMER 2020 RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK
'If you wished Normal People had tackled female friendship, try Expectation' GRAZIA
'Profoundly intelligent and humane. Deserves to feature on many a prize shortlist' GUARDIAN
'A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition' PANDORA SYKES
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What happened to the women we were supposed to become?
Hannah, Cate and Lissa are young, vibrant and inseparable. Living on the edge of a common in East London, their shared world is ablaze with art and activism, romance and revelry - and the promise of everything to come. They are electric. They are the best of friends.
Ten years on, they are not where they hoped to be. Amidst flailing careers and faltering marriages, each hungers for what the others have. And each wrestles with the same question: what does it take to lead a meaningful life?
The most razor-sharp and heartbreaking novel of the year, EXPECTATION is a novel about finding your way: as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a rebel.
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'Thoughtful, beautifully written, honest. A sensual book. I URGE YOU TO READ IT' MARIAN KEYES
'Beautiful, sharp, moving. I urge you to read it'' ELIZABETH DAY
'A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition' PANDORA SYKES
'I loved it ... 10 out of 10' BRYONY GORDON
'Will resonate with approximately 99% of women' RED MAGAZINE summer pick
'One of the most intensely readable novels this year' METRO
'One of our most gifted contemporary writers' WATERSTONES
'SO GOOD. A 'What they did next' story of characters from a Sally Rooney novel' SARAH FRANKLIN
'The story of 3 college friends, if you're a fan of Sally Rooney, you'll love EXPECTATION' IRISH EXAMINER
'A must-read' FABULOUS MAGAZINE
'A generation-defining book on motherhood, ambition and sex. Like NORMAL PEOPLE with female friendship under the microscope.' ERIN KELLY
'Few novels leave me so genuinely breathless with their brilliance' HANNAH BECKERMAN
'Sublime' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, Book of the Year
'A marvellously tangy London novel' DAILY MAIL
'A grown-up, honest take on female camaraderie. Packed with talking points' MAIL ON SUNDAY
'Hugely absorbing, massively enjoyable' LISSA EVANS
'Totally unputdownable, immersive, sharp, FAB' HARRIET EVANS
'Beautifully observed study of female friendship and a moving account of the collision between aspiration and reality' DAILY MAIL MUST-READ
'Fantastically well-realised portrait of female friendship's joys and pains from an exciting new voice in British fiction' DAILY TELEGRAPH
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We meet Londoners Hannah, Lissa, and Cate when the ambitious sparks of their 20s are beginning to flick out. Transitioning through the past and present, Expectation follows these three friends while they struggle to find meaning in their lives. The nostalgic scenes of their wistful east London summers—featuring Turkish cafes, sun-soaked parks and misguided romances—are a delightful demonstration of Anna Hope’s natural ability to transport readers deep into her character’s world. At times, it feels like a gorgeous love letter to London. Despite the revelation that some of their expectations have not been met, this dazzling novel is hopeful, romantic and a reminder of the enduring power of female friendships.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hope's enthralling latest (following Wake) propels readers into the lives of three women steeped in personal and political anxieties. Lissa and Hannah, best friends from college, live in London, while Cate, their former roommate and Hannah's best friend from high school, has settled down, gotten married, and moved to Canterbury, where she rues the isolation of her new home and struggles with postpartum depression. Meanwhile, Hannah exhausts herself with rigid routines as she and her husband give it one last go at an IVF pregnancy, and Lissa dreams of life on the stage amid crippling loneliness, a fraught relationship with her artist mother, and regret over her acting career not panning out. Hope breaks the narrative into succinct, startlingly focused chapters that cut between the characters' experiences in their youth with tensions in adulthood, tracing a jagged triangle around their lives as they face adultery, fierce competition, and lingering guilt over not being there for each other in the past. The book's best moments emerge in the women's frank discussions about their sex lives and sexuality, and their anxious grappling with the future. Hope has a bead on what her readers want and she delivers.
Customer Reviews
Thoughtful
I’m happy to be sharing my review for Expectation by Anna Hope today. Thank you to Alison Barrow of Penguin Random House UK for a copy of the paperback book. My thoughts are my own and not influenced by the gift.
As a woman, a mother, a daughter and a wife this book certainly did resonate with me. The dreams and aspirations we have as we finish our school exams, leave University, start our first jobs, fall in love, agree to marry someone, and/or conceive a child all change over time – sometimes we achieve our original dream but often we take subtle diversions, which may or may not lead back to the original dream.
In this day of social media, we often see the high points in other peoples lives – we don’t see that the singleton out partying is actually lonely, that the new mother is struggling with sleep deprivation and that the career woman would give it up at the drop of a hat to be a mother. As the saying goes “the grass isn’t always greener on the other side” but still so many of us dream of changing something without realising how lucky we are to have what we already have.
Anna Hope has captured the modern life of many women in the UK perfectly. Her writing brings the characters of Hannah, Cate and Lissa to life. All three have flaws and face challenges, especially as their friendship is challenged by some major challenges and betrayals.
At times the book made me feel uncomfortable, would friends really betray each other in this way. However, the writing made it all too believable. My daughter is almost 15 and developing into a young woman. I will be putting my copy of the book aside for her to read when she becomes a woman and heads out into the world, full of her own hopes and dreams.
The Wives - Tarryn Fisher
Awful - don’t bother reading it. It goes nowhere. Plays on women & mental health issues. A pointless read