The Unwilding was a wild ride, surprising, intense and utterly engrossing. At first I was unsure what kind of book I was reading: the characters were vivid, the dynamics opaque and something was lurking behind the mundane holiday facade of a famous author, his family and the friends and acolytes he has invited to join them in Tuscany. The writing is literary in the best sense, and I enjoyed travelling through time with the protagonists. I especially liked the narrowing of the perspective to just two characters through whom we see what is happening: Nemony, the family's youngest daughter, just eight years old at the start, and Zoey, an aspiring young writer invited for the first time by her literary hero, trying to navigate a social system she doesn't yet understand, but will when we meet them again years later.

The novel manages to be a great portrayal of motherhood and parental relationships; it portrays power dynamics between genders, generations and family members; it talks about literature, art and the production of both; it deals with memories, tragedies and secrets. Though bursting with themes, ideas and action, The Unwilding always stayed on the right side of chaos. I never felt that the plot was too jumbled, rather that it all came together beautifully,

I did not know what to expect and I really liked it. Highly recommended as an entertaining, engaging and satisfying read, and a big thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This is a beautiful book - I couldn’t put it down. It is the story of a wildly successful literary author and his children. Told mostly through the eyes of Nemony, the youngest and Zoe, a young and naive writer invited to the family’s summer house in Sicily, the tragedy unfolds slowly but with devastating effect.
The characterisation is perfect, the pace is wonderful and it was truly a pleasure to read.

The premise of this novel really drew me in – a young writer gets invited to spend some time with a famed novelist (Don Travers) in Sicily where she stays with him and his family and friends. It’s a great opportunity for Zoe but as the week unfolds, Zoe finds herself intrigued by this family and its dynamics.
The two main POVs are of Zoe and Don’s youngest daughter Nemony who is 10 years old when they are in Sicily (compared to Zoe’s 26) and you get this great juxtaposition between their narration. Zoe experiencing this scenario and these people for the first time and all of the emotions that come with it. Then Nemony, who is moving towards young adolescence, very astutely observing her family and family friends but not quite understanding the meaning of everything until we flash-forward 20 years. We see Nemony in her adult life and how her childhood and that summer in Sicily has impacted her choices as a woman and also how that time has influenced Zoe in years to come.
This novel deals with topics such as family, relationships, sex, success, power and motherhood while also shining a light on mental health (including post-natal depression), addiction and adultery.
The unreliable narrator is a device used really well in The Unwilding. Particularly through Nemony - it’s apparent that the way she recalls memories from her childhood is not consistent with what she comes to learn when she’s older which lead her to question a lot of what she knows.
The Sicily based narrative is full of excitement, intrigue and displays elements of hedonism with a wine induced haze draped over the setting and the people. The characters are intriguing and though we’re introduced to them through one person who doesn’t know them very well and another who is a young child and though astute, is naïve due to her age, you get the sense that there is more to these characters and this family than what we are initially told which really drives you through the story. As the holiday abruptly ends, you are compelled to carry on to discover the fallout.
As the story progresses, characters develop and the story unfolds with a reveal which is shocking and heartbreaking. By the last third and the end, it gives a lot of understanding to this family when pieced together. The first part of the story happens in 1999 which is reflected in the events following Sicily – particularly when mental health is discussed which is contrasted with how it’s dealt with 20 years later.
The writing style is evocative and detailed and pays great attention to characterisation and the internal psyche. There are also feminist elements to this novel as the 2 main POVs are female voices and you also focus on supporting female characters. Through these characters, Kemp explores differing views and experiences on sexuality, relationships and motherhood.

The Unwilding by Marina Kemp is a compelling novel that immerses you in the dynamics of a family and the relationships especially between siblings and between parents and children and also explores themes of motherhood, creativity, mental health.

The writing in this was absolutely beautiful! The book explored many important themes such as family, grief and motherhood. The two POVs were really interesting as it became clear there was an aspect of unreliable narration going on. I do love an unreliable narrator! What happened to Tree absolutely broke my heart. Finding out Lydia's story was also heart breaking.
Overall, a really good read!

4.25/5

Wow I absolutely adored this book! The blurb had me interested going in, but I still wasn't completely sure what direction the story would take, and I think that made my personal reading experience even better. The middle 50% of this book in particular had me enraptured - I loved the floral, scenic writing style and I thought the themes of motherhood, parenthood and female autonomy were explored and woven very naturally into the story. I really felt for Nemony and her struggles with family, and Zoe's "independent" POV added a bit of mystery to keep the plot going as well. All in all, "The Unwilding" was a really intricate family story that tugged at my heart strings and I can't wait to read more from this author!

this was such an unexpected love!! so evocative, I loved flipping between the two narrators and slowly realising the unreliability of their perspectives. I was hanging on every word at one point, desperate to know how each loose thread would find its way.

some plot points felt slightly forced but overall I absolutely inhaled this and will be recommending!!

This was a really interesting novel that reminded me a little of Deborah Levy's Swimming Home. I found it well paced and I really enjoyed Kemp's minimal and detached narrative tone. Characterisation was also done very well, and although.I found it a bit slow to start I found myself gripped as the story progressed. I particularly enjoyed the novel's nuanced exploration of the complexities of family and imbalanced power dynamics.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.