"It is the summer of 2019, and Sophie Evans, the reckless protagonist of Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett's unsettling second novel, has arrived on an idyllic island in the Cyclades with her university friends Helena, Iris and Alessia to celebrate Helena's forthcoming marriage. Helena doesn't want it called her hen Like we're dumpy little featherbrains going cluck, cluck, cluck, but all the same, the men including Sophie's curator boyfriend of six years, Greg will not arrive for another five days."
"By contrast, Sophie whose father is an electrician and mother the full-time carer for her disabled sister is working in a museum shop while she tries to make her way as an artist. She is also under pressure from her reliable, thoughtful partner, Greg, to have a baby, when what she urgently wants is freedom to paint. Apparently understanding this, Alessia commissions a nude portrait from Sophie, to be painted during their time on the island in her private studio."
It is summer 2019 on a Cycladic island where Sophie Evans joins university friends Helena, Iris and Alessia to celebrate Helena's upcoming marriage. The villa's lavish setting highlights post-university class differences: Iris works in publishing, Alessia's family is wealthy, Helena aspires to be a trophy wife, while Sophie struggles as an artist from a working-class background. Sophie faces pressure from her long-term boyfriend Greg to have a child, but craves freedom to paint. Alessia commissions Sophie to paint a nude portrait. The arrival of Ky, a charismatic waiter and archaeologist, intensifies desire and envy, turning simmering rivalries into dangerous tension.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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