The Rocks - Softcover

This is a sophisticated and ambitious novel but I'm going to keep my verdict simple: it is one of the best books I've read in a long time . . . The setting, the engaging cast of characters and the changes in morals and society over the decades are vividly painted and fascinating. The Rocks has everything I look for in a work of fiction but rarely find between one set of covers. -- Isabel Costello * Literary Sofa * 'Peter Nichols's wondrous novel The Rocks is clearly the odyssey he was born to undertake, the book he was destined to write' Richard Russo. * Richard Russo * Gorgeously absorbing... Told in flashback, with wit, passion and charm * Sunday Mirror * An involving and erudite saga * Sunday Times * A Mediterranean idyll, a family saga, a mystery. A love story that's as weird as real life, as rich and surprising and tender and affecting. The Rocks is all these things. Like Beautiful Ruins, it reminds me of all the reasons I read novels. -- Jennifer Haigh, Pen/Hemmingway Award-winning author of Faith A beautifully crafted love story set against an idyllic backdrop of ocean breezes and lemon groves. Nichols expertly weaves a tale that stretches across decades and generations, giving us a unique and unforgettable cast of characters. -- J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Maine I have admired Peter Nichols for a long time. He shows an unflinching honesty in his writing and he brings to light the intricate dynamics of human relationships, both the noble and the small. Nothing escapes him. -- Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Set over 60 years, this family drama will completely consume you. * Stylist *

Three generations, two families and the dangerous delights of a Mediterranean island, The Rocks is a bittersweet chronicle of unresolved feuds. Set on the island of Mallorca, The Rocks is a double love story told in reverse. Opening in 2005 with a dramatic event that seems to seal the mystery of two lives, the story moves backwards in time, unravelling over sixty years, amid the olive groves and bars, the boats and poolside parties, the lives and relationships of two intertwined families within an expat community of endearing and flawed characters. As one story is revealed, another, sweeter one, a love story of a couple from the younger generation, arises in the wake of their elder's failures. The Rocks is a darkly comic, bittersweet, finally heartbreaking novel, that slips back in time to reveal the shocking incident that marked and altered these lives for ever.