100th OPRAH WINFREY BOOK CLUB PICK
‘Radiant and brilliantly crafted’ New York Times
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A rich, compassionate tale of four sisters and the love affair that fractures their family
Best friends and sisters, the four Padavano girls are seen as inseparable by everyone in their close-knit Italian-American neighbourhood. Julia, the eldest, is the ‘rocket’ of the family – she always has a destination in mind and clear plans for how to get there. Sylvie, the dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book, dreaming of the kind of love you only read about in literature. Cecelia and Emmeline, the twins, are the artist and the caregiver. From childhood, the four sisters complete each other.
When Julia falls in love with William Waters, a history student and college sports star, she’s delighted by the way her plans for adulthood are coming to a husband, a house, a family of her own. But when darkness from William’s past begins to block the light of his future, it is Sylvie, not Julia, who becomes his closest confidante – and the ensuing betrayal tears the sisters apart.
Heart-breaking and heart-mending, HELLO BEAUTIFUL paints a vivid portrait of the unique bond and devastating betrayals of sisterhood.
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‘Beautiful, perceptive, wistful. I loved it’
Miranda Cowley Heller, author of The Paper Palace
‘Ann Napolitano’s writing is astonishing’
Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups
‘Another tender tearjerker… She helps us see ourselves – and each other – whole’
Washington Post
‘Napolitano’s homage to Little Women , set in late-20th century Chicago, will prompt you to slow down as you read, never wanting the book to end’
Oprah Quarterly