Four siblings try to make what their artist father was truly like, who they are, what they mean to each other and if their father’s young wife is to be trusted.
Written in a cinematic way, The Homemade God is relevant and contemporary and does not lose its literary quality.
I found it quite enjoyable.
Prose and plot 3.5 stars
Mood 4
Characterisation 4.5

I love Rachel Joyce's writing and was excited to read this. It's different from her previous work, but that's no bad thing. Recommended!

Goose and his three sisters gather at their father's home by Lake Orta in Piedmont, Italy. Their father, a famous artist, has recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his masterpiece; now he is dead. There is no sign of his new wife and no sign of a painting.Always close, all that the siblings come to understand, about themselves, their father and their new stepmother, Bella-Mae, will drive them apart before they can come to any kind of understanding of what their father's legacy truly is.

A completely different novel from Rachel Joyce around a family dealing with the death of their famous father. It has all the complexities and family dynamics needed to keep you entertained.

Rachel Joyce has spread her wings and written something completely different from her previous books - and it is a great success.

I very much enjoyed this tale of four siblings as they navigate the death of their overpowering father. There is a slow build up to madness as the siblings pretend that they are in control of the situation, their control is eroded by jealousy, grief and good old paranoia.
I thought the 'well this is how you could have seen the situation' as a very clever twist at the end of the book. But then I suppose that might not have been the full story either!

Great read!

I think there is a whiff in the literature zeitgeist of svengali artist fathers who provide both lynchpin and destruction in their families. Thinking particularly of Charlotte Mendelsson (The Exhibitionist) and Marina Kemp (The Unwilding) but several more come to mind. As I read this novel I did feel like I had been here before and, sadly in more capable hands.

I found this an unexpected route for Rachel Joyce but do enjoy writers taking their readers in different directions. This is largely a family story of the fallout after the death of the patriarch. The main action takes place in Italy in the home Vic bought in the early years of his artistic success. From what was said. I imagined Vic as a Jack Vettriano style painter.

I enjoyed the development of the characters of the siblings - Netta, Susan, Iris and Goose, all of whom had deep problems but overlaid with privilege and entitlement. I think that if the narrative voice had been rotated rather than the omniscient, birds eye view, there would have been the space for the reader to inhabit the characters, whereas we end up being told the story.

The perspective does slightly shift when we are asked to "see" things another way. I had been wanting to see things differently long before this and, in my head, had already been doing this. It felt too little, too late, too third person for any impact.

Despite my misgivings, I did enjoy reading the book. I just think it could have packed a bigger punch if told in a variety of voices.

With thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHouseUK for the opportunity to read and review

Rachel Joyce is one of my favourite authors and I thought this book was wonderful.
Her storytelling is incredible and I love the depth she brings to all her characters.
The tale is told by four siblings who travel to their family holiday home in Italy, following the sudden death of their father who had recently married a much younger mysterious woman.
Was his death a tragic accident or something more sinister?
This book started off quite slowly but as it unravelled we got an insight into the siblings relationship with their father and each other.
It’s raw, it’s real and the ending was most satisfying.
We thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Homemade God tells the story of four siblings, their father and his much younger new wife. As the family gather, at their ramshackle villa on an island by a lake in Italy, life as they know it ends. Relationships are fractured and the siblings become estranged from one another. Complex and compelling, dark but with some humour, this is part mystery and part family drama.

It reads very differently compared to the author’s other novels, it seems darker and altogether more serious. Despite feeling I disliked all of the characters for the majority of the book, the last chapters drew it all together so skilfully that to my surprise I ended up rooting for them all.

I can well imagine a successful film adaptation will follow. (Anya Taylor-Joy for Bella-Mae?)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy

I loved this well-written and compelling book. The story wasn't quite what I expected, but it was an excellent exploration of family relationships, and the damage which families can cause. I think Rachel Joyce is an excellent writer, and this is one of her best books in my opinion.

This felt like a different step for Rachel, and I'm here for it.

Goose and his three sisters gather at the family's house by Lake Orta in Piedmont, Italy. Their father, a famous artist, has recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his masterpiece. Now he is dead and there is no sign of a painting.

Although the siblings have always been close, as they search for answers over that summer, the things they learn - about themselves, their father and their new stepmother - will drive them apart before they can come to any kind of understanding of what their father's legacy truly is.


I'll start by saying that none of the characters, apart from Goose, were particularly likeable, but their flaws were the making of the story. It's a tale as old as time - you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family. It was moody, melancholy and depressing yet funny, uplifting and entertaining. It's part mystery and part family saga. Who is this young woman that married their father, and can she be trusted? What secrets is everyone keeping?

Rachel Joyce is a gifted storyteller, and it is no secret that I am a huge fan. I've read everything she has written and loved them all. Is this my favourite? Probably not. Did I love it all the same? Yes!

Thanks for the ARC in exchange for my review.

This is a fantastic family drama but I found it quite dark which made it harder for me to engage with it. Four siblings who have a very close relationship in part due to their difficult childhood find their relationships become increasingly fractured after the sudden death of their father, his recent marriage to a woman younger than any of them further complicates the situation. All four are grieving in such different way and the impact their fathers death has on each of them probably highlights each of their most difficult traits, not helped by the subtle manipulation of their step mother. Interestingly the time after his death makes each of them reconsider their own futures but it takes a lot of negativity to reach that point. I think I found the core relationships between each child and their father quite difficult as each was troubling in its own way but they couldn’t necessarily see that so I found some elements quite uncomfortable but equally that’s the beauty of this book too as it really looks at the absolute core of the relationships and what has made each child the person they are today.

Another masterpiece by Rachel Joyce!
Big fat 5 stars from me!
Huge thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC

What an amazing book! I wasn’t sure about the story at the start - 4 entitled children of a self-taught and flamboyant artist gather after his death to find out how he died - but the detailed writing and beautifully evolving storyline pulled me in and I was hooked. Rachel Joyce writes with compelling gentleness and teases out the nuances and imperfections of family life, the effect of an egotistical father on his children and the power of love. And what an ending! This is her best book yet.