Gorgeous gorgeous book that I keep pressing into everyone's hands, I've got a new favourite writer in Miranda Cowley Heller!

There are a lot of difficult subjects in this book. It is primarily about different losses, so it’s a poignant story. This isn’t the type of story you should read if you are feeling down. It’s reflective and covers several taboo or difficult points.

I listened to this audiobook after reading a digital ARC of Miranda Cowley Heller's novel as I wanted to immerse myself even further into Elle's story. I'm so glad I listened to this as it brought another dimension to the novel for me. It is beautifully read by Laurel Lefkow who is one of my absolute favourite narrators and she brings real empathy and sensitivity to her narration, bringing further depth to the character of Elle. This is a story that unfolds over 24 hours and goes back 5 decades, exploring family secrets and trauma and the difficult decision Elle has to make. A beautiful novel that will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this digital audiobook.

I listened to the audio version. There were a couple of moments I’m aware I gasped out loud, especially early on with the casual sexual references that took me by surprise.
It’s an atmospheric story, almost nostalgic in places reminiscing on past love but then suddenly that hazy sentimentality is shattered with descriptions of child sexual harassment. It’s not a comfortable read .. perhaps that’s the point .. it makes you stop.
But it’s beautifully written and narrated and I did enjoy listening.

The Paper Palace begins at 6.30am in the Back Woods at a cabin on the lake. Elle dives into the crisp water of the pond and remembers last night, when she left her husband Peter and family inside and had sex against the cabin with her childhood friend, Jonah.

From then on the, story unfolds in hourly updates of the day after the event, interspersed with chapters set in the past which fully illuminate the context of Ellie and Jonah’s decision.

I loved this audiobook. The narrator was easy to listen to and her skill meant I became really involved in the plot and the dilemma Elle faced. I loved the way the author painted the setting with her words in such a way that I felt like I was right there with Elle sipping coffee on the porch or swimming in the pond and then I was deeply envious when I looked up from the book into the real world and realised I wasn’t there.

I loved the snippets from the past that informed you about the family’s characters and secrets without going on for too long and disjointing you from the plot.

I listened to the ending several times and enjoyed collecting my thoughts about who Ella would choose.

At times it is an uneasy listen due to the theme of sexual abuse running through the story but it is a beautiful novel and a masterpiece of characterisation and dark humour. I miss the characters, even the ascerbic Wallace already.

Such an amazing book. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest opinion.

The paper palace of the title is an idyllic but run holiday home by a pond where Eleanor and Anna spend enchanted childhood summers. They swim and sail and explore the back woods. As an adult it is a place of retreat and sanctuary for Eleanor, but it is a place where the past can come back to haunt her, and one night, she does something so selfish and terrible it might tear her family apart.
The author writes so beautifully about the back woods and the pond. You can almost feel the hot sun and cool water on your skin. The story of the 24 hours after the event is interspersed with flash backs to her life leading up to that point, the losses, the scars she carries, some small and healed, some deep open wounds.
This author does likes to shock, shifting gear from tranquil description to mildly sweary sex talk in a little over half a sentence.
And then Eleanor cheats on her perfect husband with her childhood best friend.
It is an act so awful that the reader immediately despises her, but I had feeling that the authors task with the rest of the book was to explain the reasons for this decision and make us like her again. I have to admit that the story was clever, insightful and did work very well.
The female characters were great, Elanor and her sister Anna, both strong women in their own way, and their extra-ordinary but difficult mother. It did seem though that the male characters got a raw deal. Jonas (the lover) was a one trick pony, seen through Eleanor eyes he is a vision of perfection, always in love with her. Peter (the husband) was a comedy Englishman, I am sure he was supposed to be charming but just came across as ridiculous, to be fair though, I don't think the accent used for him by the narrator helped the situation.
Oher than with Peter, I think the narrator did an excellent job, bringing the story to life.
After the first 10% I wasn't sure that I would enjoy this story, but by the end I was hooked. Perfect if you like a summer read with a bit of bite.
Thnks to Net Galley and the publisher for a chance to review this twisty family saga.

Recently I was sorely disappointed by the novel “The Hummingbird” which tells the story of a married man who has never been able to be with the true love of his life. I was reminded how much the structure of a novel can really impact how successfully it conveys its subject when reading Miranda Cowley Heller's emotionally-intelligent first novel “The Paper Palace” because the central story is the same as Veroensi's but much more effective. Elle Bishop is a happily married wife and mother staying at her family's summer camp in Cape Cod. On the evening before the book's opening chapter, she finally had sex with Jonas, a man she's been in love with since she was a teenager but who she's not been able to be with for complicated reasons. We follow the fallout of this over a 24 hour period while getting the story of her difficult family life and events leading up to this disarming experience. We also come to understand the dark secret which simultaneously binds her to Jonas and keeps them physically apart. It's an absorbing and evocative story that realistically details the foibles and frailties of its characters in a way that made me fall for them and deeply care about the testing dilemmas that they face.

Each chapter feels perfectly measured to show how the small details happening in the present day are impacted by the past. It's compelling how we come to understand the dynamics of Elle's relationship to her mother, her husband Peter and Jonas as the novel progresses. Though the story is told in Elle's voice, I understood all the characters' points of view and felt sympathetic towards them even if I didn't necessarily agree with the choices they make. This gradually builds upon the meaning of the intense encounter which proceeds the novel's opening and creates a tension concerning what Elle will do now that she and Jonas have turned their intense feelings for each other into a physical expression. I was particularly taken with Elle's mother who is such a complex, opinionated and peevish individual. It's totally understandable that Elle would find her difficult and irritating, but she's the kind of forthright individual who is wonderfully entertaining to read about. Although I was a little skeptical about some of British dialogue from Englishman Peter, it felt realistic how he has an easy and affable relationship with his mother-in-law which Elle can never achieve.

Being from New England, I particularly appreciated the way the author beautifully writes about the natural environment of this summer camp and how the structure of this rural community changes over time. There's something endearing about Elle's deep affection for this location despite the painful memories associated with it. The novel also movingly describes the twisted structures of sexual abuse and the poisonous way these occurrences can become secretly weaved into a family's life. It feels like this story offers a new point of view about this difficult subject matter so it's a thought provoking as well as a heartfelt book. I was also completely absorbed by its humour, sensuality and well-judged narrative tension. Given that the author works on different TV Drama Series and that this debut has been snapped up as a Reese Witherspoon choice, it seems likely that this novel will get a screen adaptation. Often reviewers can be snippy about how novels can sometimes feel like they were written only for this purpose, but I think the innovative structure of this book which is perfectly suited to its story makes it an utterly compelling read.

With a slow start for me, it got to a better pace once we start examining the protagonists early childhood and teenage years. Be very careful of all the triggers!! Thought it was a bit too trauma porn for me but I really enjoyed Cowley's atmospheric writing.

A riveting, powerfully written dramatic read!

There will be some disturbing areas in this read but it’s well worth you getting through the harrowing scenes. Once you hit around 1/4 of the way through I’m hoping you will be hooked like I was.

The Paper Palace is a camp where Ell Bishops family spent every Summer. This summer meets a change for Ell. Is she going to regret what she did?

This spans fifty years of lies, secrets .
Peter her husband, will she stay with him or her life long dream with her her childhood sweetheart?

There are so many things that happen around Ell and her innermost secrets that will make the toughest person feel.

The childhood references and memories that merge so well into the present is so well weaved in.

The narrator was excellent. Had enough pitch power and pace reading this to follow it so well.

A somewhat tragic tale. Very powerful.

The last chapter was such a heavy BOOM revelation.
And a warming one from Mother to daughter.

It’s lovely how it ends with the Pond in chapter 33 as Ell started with the Pond.

The reflections on Jonas were insightful to how she remembers him and yet is so tender with Peter.

This book is so wrong, so right. Addictive.

The Paper Palace that’s falling apart knows all Ell’s secrets.

Why don’t you read this and discover them too.

This is the first book I have read by this Author; who's superb vivid descriptions make you feel as if you are right there in the story. The story itself flicks between present time and Elle's childhood/background growing up. In all honesty, I found the story a little sad - a late middle age Elle, living through several traumatic experiences and never really getting what she longed for. I didn't particularly warm to any of the characters, with the exception of Elle's mother (who isn't a particularly good mother either) and at the end I was left feeling hollow and wondering what the point of the story was - the penmanship alone kept me there until the end and I thought the Narrator, Nan McNamara, was exceptional.

Many thanks to Penguin and Netgallery for allowing me to read/listen to this book.

This is such a powerful book. I love the descriptions and observations on life.
I love the main character and the crazy life she has lead. She is a strong character, but she’s gone through so much. I listened to this as an audio book and really enjoyed the voices the narrator used. Her English male accent is pretty good. The secrets, the love stories, the families and the lies- are all woven together in to such a good read.

This is a story of a midlife crisis involving a happily married 50 year old woman and her first boyfriend. Set in America in the childhood holiday home called the paper palace of the woman Elle, the story goes back and forth to previous childhood summers and the present day where Elle is there with her family. The story flows really we and it was hard to put down. .Covered the most devastating of situations including family breakups, step families, rape, teenage trauma, mother daughter relationships, still birth. Beautifully written to conjure up the sights and smells of the holiday location. Narration was excellent and the right pace. Thank you #NetGalley for the audio book to review.

The Paper Palace - Miranda Cowley Heller
Narrated by Nan McNamara

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random Audio and I am leaving this review voluntarily

It is a perfect July morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at "The Paper Palace"--the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next twenty-four hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn't forever changed the course of their lives. As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanors of families.

This is a family saga, spanning from when Elle is a child all the way up to when she is a mother. Told in multiple times, there are flashbacks which help the reader to understand all that Elle does. I had no idea what to expect when starting this book but it is no way what I would have expected.

I am not entirely sure how I feel about this book, I found myself wanting to stop reading due to the mention of sexual harassment of a child, however I found myself unable to actually stop listening. This is not a book for the easily offended but nevertheless it is an enjoyable read.

I was so looking forward to this one, after seeing such high review ratings.
Firstly, the writing is breathtaking. It is so well written, I feel harsh giving it 3 stars.
But for me, the plot didn't hold up to much scrutiny. It was too much of a slow burn for me and I have a strong need for an eventful story, that consumes me and keeps me engaged. I didn't care for the characters and the decisions they made.
There were so many sex scenes, I felt like I was reading Fifty Shades at times. They just felt like scene fillers to me and I eventually got pretty fed up of them.
The arrangement of the timelines was sometimes difficult to follow on the audiobook, but that just might be something I have difficulty with.

Saga about the one who got away but there is far more in this book! Beautifully written with colourful characters to say the least! Who wouldn’t want to have a paper palace of their own…

I am not entirely sure what to make of this novel that is a closely observed story of a woman's life, and provides brief glimpses into the lives of people she encounters.

There were a large number of very disturbing scenes. These left me feeling at turns revolted and upset.

I found the writing strong and the audio narrator did a good job with the different accents and voices for the characters. I think that she did a great job with the material, but was also left wondering whether for me this would have been even stronger had I been reading it than listening. Perhaps, it would be good to read this in physical copy and listen in tandem - to enrich this story of yearning and pain and experience it in both mediums.

Overall I would recommend this to people who enjoy a literary rendering of an at times dramatic and upsetting story. I did have a bit of trouble really understanding the obstacles for two characters, I am not sure that they were as insurmountable as the character believed, and when they were thought to have diminished I would have thought the other factors had actually made them even bigger.

I would happily listen to other novels narrated by this narrator and read more from this author. My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The audio version I found was good. It took me a while to get into the ebook but listening to it I felt was better. The narrator was good and easy to listen to. It had a good storyline and was well written in parts however at times became disjointed and didn't flow well which I felt was due to the emotional aspect of it. It is set in two time frames and tells the story of secrets and lies and relationships. I would recommend it to others to try and will look out for another one of Miranda's to read.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is a book for those who appreciate long books about character's interactions with each other being the sole focus.

I do enjoy those books, and there were parts of this narrative that soared. The writing, particularly around the memories of youth, is at times beautiful, full of a hazzy atmosphere and something akin to nostalgia.

Which I think is what so made this book one that I found jarring - because it will then suddenly be harsher prose, something entirely less literary than it is elsewhere and at times needlessly and purposefully shocking with its causal sexual violence.

Overall, I would be excited to read more by this author, I just found that there were parts of this book I loved and parts that made me want to stop reading and I struggled to balance those out.