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Rites of Spring
On sale
13th September 2012
Price: £6.99
This isn’t where we started out.
This isn’t what we wanted or intended.
Adam and Sasha Levy appear to have it all: a pleasant home, demanding careers and three bright children. But underneath, the pressures of modern living are taking an unendurable toll. When Adam, under extreme strain, breaks a longstanding promise to his wife, their relationship begins to crumble.
Liffy, their innocent, ballet-obsessed thirteen-year-old, is caught in the middle. As Liffy finds herself drifting away, the Levys spiral towards tragedy.
Someone has to make a sacrifice, but the cost could be too much to bear . . .
How did we come to this?
This isn’t what we wanted or intended.
Adam and Sasha Levy appear to have it all: a pleasant home, demanding careers and three bright children. But underneath, the pressures of modern living are taking an unendurable toll. When Adam, under extreme strain, breaks a longstanding promise to his wife, their relationship begins to crumble.
Liffy, their innocent, ballet-obsessed thirteen-year-old, is caught in the middle. As Liffy finds herself drifting away, the Levys spiral towards tragedy.
Someone has to make a sacrifice, but the cost could be too much to bear . . .
How did we come to this?
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Reviews
'An imaginative novel . . . with themes of miscommunication, perfectionism and adolescence.'
'Jessica Duchen's debut novel is captivating, imaginative and fascinating. As a musician and a mother, I recognized many of the scenarios and found the questions that were posed very poignant, both from a musical and personal perspective. The pace builds powerfully to a dramatic and ultimately very moving conclusion. Completely gripping!'
'Adam and Sasha appear to have the perfect life - good jobs, a nice home, money and three perfect children. But as their marriage begins to unravel, their ballet-crazy daughter starts staving herself - and her parents are too preoccupied to notice. A haunting, heartbreaking novel.'
'A sensitive and thought-provoking novel that will resonate all the more for those with musical leanings.'
'Jessica Duchen has crafted a riveting drama set within the arts world . . . The neatly-composed plot charges to a climax as steadily as Ravel's Boléro, with Duchen capturing well the inner world of the pubescent girl and the London classical music scene. For fans of Joanna Trollope and Russian composers alike.'
'Wonderful! Thank you for hours of absorption - I had to know what happened to the characters.'
'Duchen writes with a rhythm and pace that embrace a tellingly perceptive and articulate portrayal of the nuances of the human condition, richly detailed and yet always fluent.'