Home Thoughts (Flamingo) [first edition]

Julia has left home. She has gone to Italy. She has left her lover, her job, her flat, the closely knit group of friends who meant so much to her. Why? And the motley group of ex-pats she finds in Verona, the Oxbridge brigade, the revolutionary Scot, the cool Canadian, the feminist Flossy - what are they doing here. Why do they find it so impossible to return home, as if their very identity has turned out to be such a trap? Centred around a love story full of twists, turns and revelations, "Home Thoughts" explores a world of lost directions, wavering commitments and misplaced ambitions as Julia's adventurous departure confronts her more mercilessly than ever with the problem of what on earth she is to do with her life. Tim Parks is the author of two prize winning novels, "Tongues of Flame" - winner of the Somerset Maugham and of the Betty Trask Award and "Loving Roger" - winner of the John Llewellyhn Rhys Memorial Award. He lives in Italy and works as a translator and teacher.