Rachel Joyce’s latest novel published last week made for perfect holiday reading over the spring break. Set between London and Lake Orta in Italy, it’s a family saga centred around patriarch and larger than life artist Vic, and his four children Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris.

When Vic gathers his children for dinner in London, they hope and expect he’ll have news of his latest work, a masterpiece he claims will cap his career. Instead he tells them he’s met and is about to marry Bella Mae, a woman almost fifty years his junior. When he decamps to the family’s ramshackle, decadent holiday home on Lake Orta with Bella Mae, the family ignore him but when he dies suddenly, leaving behind more questions than answers, the family gather in Italy to sort through the detritus of his life and legacy.

An immersive story with a rich and interesting cast of characters and a lush setting, The Homemade God strikes the right balance between whimsy and weighty, and makes for an atmospheric summer saga. 4/5⭐️

*Many thanks to the publisher Double Day/Random House for the arc via @netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Homemade God was published last Thursday 17 April.

Rachel Joyce is an author who's gifted with a lovely turn of phrase and the ability to create characters that you really care about. 'The Homemade God' draws you in very quickly to the drama of the Kemp family - unreliable artist father Vic and his four adult children. The siblings are horrified when Vic announces out of the blue that he plans to marry a woman younger than any of them, whom they have never met. Not long after, Vic dies suddenly and the family gathers at their Italian villa to try to piece together what happened. Was Vic's death the tragic accident that the police seem to think it was? Where is his will - and where is his highly anticipated last great painting? Over the course of a stifling summer old family secrets and resentments come to light and everyone is left changed forever.

I liked and had sympathy with all the characters, even if I didn't always like their behaviour. Joyce writes with a great understanding of the complexity of sibling relationships, weighted down with literally a whole lifetime of emotional baggage. It was sad to read as the formerly very close brother and sisters fell out with each other, but it also becomes clear as you progress through the story that it was necessary for each of them to be able to grow as an individual.

The central mystery about Vic's death provides a good driver for the plot - I entertained all sorts of theories, that changed or came back up over the course of the novel. It's a bit Christie-ish with the missing will, mysterious death and semi-closed circle of characters, although the story is more character driven than a 'whodunnit'. I liked the emphasis on sibling relationships rather than romantic ones.

If you like well written literary fiction, books that are about people and relationships in all their strangeness and fascination, then this should go on your reading list. It reminds me of some of Anne Tyler's novels, although it's got a stronger plot than those often do.

Vic Kemp is a successful if rather commercial artist who wants to taken seriously. He forms a relationship with a much younger woman and then marries her to the consternation of his four adult children. When Vic dies suddenly with no will his children rush to his Italian holiday home where they try to take control from his widow. During this period they are forced to confront their own issues and the family splinters apart.
Joyce has a really comfortable way of writing which depicts actions but with a real sense of humanity as well. Here the selfishness of each of the siblings is exposed as well as their secrets but in a non-sensationalist way. The younger widow is the least explored character but actually her mystique helps to reflect on the children's characters. this feels a more mature piece of writing from Joyce and I enjoyed it very much.

I simply love Rachel Joyce and everything she writes is pure perfection!

Having waited years for new material this did not disappoint and I highly recommend that fans of her work pick this book up…now.

The story:
Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris – the four children of famous artist and dominating patriarch Vic Kemp – have built their lives with their father at the centre. When Vic announces he is going to marry 27-year-old Bella-Mae, younger than his youngest daughter, they are shocked. But Vic has had so many affairs through the years, surely this will end as they all have… But when news of Vic’s marriage at their family summer home on Lake Orta in Italy is followed swiftly by news of his death, the siblings are thrown into chaos. With long-held fractures in their relationships brought to the surface, is the family finally broken beyond repair?

My thoughts:
Having enjoyed previous books by Rachel Joyce, particularly “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”, I was excited to read her latest novel “The Homemade God”.

This story begins in 2015, and we meet the Kemp family, centred around artist Vic. Vic describes himself as ‘homemade’; by which he means he’s a self-taught artist. Somewhat sneered upon by the establishment, he is nonetheless popular and has made a lot of money selling his work.

Summoning his four grown-up children to a noodle bar in London’s Soho, Vic springs the news that he is marrying again at the age of 76, to a woman 6 years younger than his youngest daughter. This of course causes various reactions amongst his children, from disbelief to anger.

Raised by Vic since the death of their mother when they were very young, all four siblings are damaged in certain ways, although most would not admit it. Netta is driven to succeed in all things, and she has excelled academically and in her career as a litigation lawyer. But this has come at the cost of personal relationships and a heavy reliance on alcohol. Susan, born less than a year after Netta, has lived her life worshipping and wanting to be her sister. Vulnerable Goose (real name Gustav) is perhaps the sibling I liked the most, and he has suffered from a lack of confidence in himself all his life, which culminated in a devastating breakdown in his early twenties. He now spends his days helping his father with his work, but never picking up a paintbrush himself, despite his early desire to be an artist. Youngest child Iris, although 33 years old, is still very much the baby of the family and both acts and is treated as such by the rest.

This sets the scene for revelations, both large and small, when the siblings receive the devastating news of Vic’s death, shortly after his marriage to Bella-Mae, which none of them attended. Their combined guilt and anger propel them towards disaster in the search both for his missing will and final painting, with long built-up resentments rising to the surface over one scorching summer in Italy.

Although I didn’t find the majority of the characters in this story very likeable for much of the book, this is a deeply intriguing and engrossing tale of family dynamics, and what happens when the lynchpin is removed. At times tragic, but also funny, this is ultimately a hopeful story of the strength of love within a family.

My first time reading @racheljoyce and i really enjoyed this compelling and fascinating read. A dysfunctional family drama about siblings, love, loss, grief and a little mystery.
It’s well written and the Italian setting is beautifully described. I was engaged from start to finish as the story completely draws you in and you’re immersed in the characters lives as told through different POV’s, with so much tension and disagreements I couldn’t put this book down. The characters are so real.
A moving story which is well worth a read. Definitely recommend if you enjoy this genre.
With thanks to #NetGallery #RandomHouseUk #TransworldPublishers for an arc of #TheHomemadeGod in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 17 April 2025.

This was a family drama surrounding four siblings and their father. Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. I feel like we're seeing a lot of fiction at the moment surrounding domineering, ego-centric artists and their suppression of loved ones who threaten their limelight and this was another in this particular deluge, but one which doesn't stand out for me.

I did not connect or care for any of the characters, they were not relatable and the eventual disentegration of the family unit was difficult to get immersed in. Even the cuckoo in the nest character, Bella-Mae was opaque and unrealistic - I could not get on board with her "wisdom" which seemed to display a maturity beyond her years and felt her behaviour was erratic and unexplained.

The pacing of this novel was centred around the grief-stricken siblings gathering and eventual collapse, but this felt slow and repetitive made other developmental parts of the plot feel rushed.

This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

... and then some extra stars.

What a novel!

The story centres around the Kemp family - Vic is the father - a widower and artist; Netta , the eldest girl and a lawyer who is the undoubted head of the family; Susan, married to Warwick and a stay at home step-mother of 2 boys; Goose (Gustav), only boy and failed artist who looks after his father's studio; and Iris, who never knew her mother and has had a string of non-jobs while she is babied by the rest of the family.

Into this tight family group a bomb is dropped in the form of Bella-Mae, her father's latest girlfriend. But there's something different this time - Vic is in love, so he says - but he's quit drinking, he's lost weight, he's trying new things and he's stopped painting. And the really strange thing is that Bella-Mae seems very reluctant to meet them.

The uncertainty around this new obsession reaches fever pitch when Vic announces they are getting married at the family home on Lake Orta in Italy. Then a phone call - Vic Kemp is dead.

The horrified siblings eventually arrive at the lake where they spent so much of their childhood, to find Vic's body gone, Bella-Mae missing and her "cousin" Laszlo at the villa. Just what is going on? How did their father die? Where is his new wife? And what happened to the masterpiece of new work that Vic had been promising?

As events at the lake unfold and the children learn the truth of their past their solidity as a unit begins to unravel and then when the final secret is out it will blow them apart.

I'm still a little breathless after finishing this excellent novel. I liked Miss Benson's Beetle but Homemade God blows it out of the water. This entire novel is held together by the characters of the children and their shared history. But then tiny explosions occur that alter their perceptions of each other and, more importantly, their beloved father. The ripples spread further and further outwards and you're just getting used to that reality when another bomb is dropped.

I loved this book. I tried reading it slowly but it is impossible. I found myself racing to discover what happened next. And the characters are so exquisitely done. It's what Rachel Joyce excels in. The plot is driven entirely by the actions and reactions of Bella-Mae and the four siblings.

It really is an extraordinarily good novel and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a really well-plotted, character-driven, tour de force of a book. Definitely going to be a highlight of this year's reading.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House for the advance review copy. Very much appreciated.

I have read all of Rachel Joyce's previous books with the exception of Miss Benson's Beetle which waits patiently on my shelf. I think that The Homemade God is my favourite of them all! I read it over the bank holiday weekend and absolutely could not put it down. I found the writing really compelling and loved the settings, both London and Lake Orto. I found the sibling relationships so fascinating to read about and I think Rachel Joyce's characterisation was incredible. I could so clearly imagine Susan, Netta, Goose and Iris... in fact, now that I have finished reading I feel that I will miss them all. At first I thought that I would find it difficult to separate each of the sisters within the narrative but that was not the case at all. Each person was so clearly themselves within the text.
Thank you so much to the publisher for granting me early access to this book. It was a definite five star read for me and a book that I will think about for a long time to come. I really enjoyed it and now that I am finished I want to go straight back to the beginning and read it all again!

Siblings Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris are close and very close to their artist Dad, Vic.
When he meets up with them to tell them he has a much younger girlfriend, their immediate thoughts are that she is a golddigger.
Netta, the oldest, is particularly vocal about that and that they haven't met her. It doesn't help that he seems to have gone to almost zero contact with them and changed his lifestyle drastically.
When he goes over to his villa on Lake Orta, the next thing they get is a text message from him saying they've got married and to come over. Netta advises them not to go still saying that it will blow over. So no one goes over. Then Susan gets a call telling her that Vic has been found drowned in the lake - she rushes over there and the others follow.
So follows the slow fracturing of what appeared to be a solid family. Over the next few days, unaired grievances are aired, hidden behaviours emerge and secret yearnings are no longer secret.
I had read the reviews on this saying that it was a departure from the authors usual style and that it took time to read. They were correct in this. It was also very engaging.

When I give 5 stars I honestly mean it but every so often a book comes along that just blows me away and some how deserves an extra star special star and this is one of those books. If I try to explain what it is about I won’t be able to do it justice as on the surface it is a story about a dysfunctional family but as you peel back the layers it is so much more. The way the author writes each character is remarkable as they are all uniquely different but all so compelling too and they fit together like a perfect puzzle. This story took me on an emotional journey and I loved every minute.

This book is completely different to others by Rachel Joyce. I didn’t like it at first, I couldn’t see anything likeable in the characters, and found them immature and quite annoying. But less than half way through and it all changed, although I still couldn’t empathise with anyone the pace of the story picked up and became all encompassing. Towards the end the book took a few unexpected turns, and overall this is a great sweeping saga of a family struggling to survive after the death of their father.

I am a big fan of Rachel Joyce’s writing and was very excited to read The Homemade God. It didn’t disappoint and it actually took me by surprise. I started the book thinking it was about the arrival of a much younger spouse and the motivations and consequences of this but by the end I realised it was a different story altogether.

It is about four siblings, it examines the bonds they created as children and how their childhood experiences influence their adult lives and relationships. It shows how the loss of their father ‘the homemade god’ affects them individually and collectively.

For me the sibling relationship is a fascinating one. Rachel Joyce brilliantly illustrates the development of this relationship from infant to adult and how common it is for siblings to rely on childhood practices and games to define their relationships as adults. The story also demonstrates what can happen when the linchpin to the sibling relationship is a parent who has their own priorities and is oblivious to the consequences of their actions.

It’s a fabulous portrait of family dynamics set against a stunning Italian landscape. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for allowing me a copy of this book for my opinion. As a fan of Rachel Joyce, I couldn't wait to read this one. Coming from a large family myself, I love to read books that feature the dynamics of multiple siblings. Within in this family based story we get drama, love, loss and grief with a touch of mystery. Quite an engaging read that I'd recommend giving it a try.

"Goose had no idea how to criticize his father's work. Neither had his sisters. It was a muscle they had never developed."

A beguiling tale of an eccentric family - famous self-taught artist Vic Kemp (the titular homemade god) and adult children Netta (Antoinetta), Susan, Goose (Gustav) and Iris with secrets, a tense mystery and an Italian lake villa at its heart. The author's characterisation and descriptions are divine and I was invested in each of Vic's adult children, whose lives they have allowed to be shaped by his commanding and domineering presence. Nuanced and suspenseful, poignant and astute, I adored this.

A well written story but I felt that is was too long drawn out, perhaps because I just didn't care for any of the characters particularly.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Does it sound condescending if I say this is the most grown up book that Rachel Joyce as written? It still has heart and characters that you care about, but the plot feels less cutesy and less contrived than Harold Fry or Mrs Benson’s Beetle.

The Homemade God is about four siblings in their 30s. Goose and his three sisters lost their mother when they were young and were raised by their larger than life father, Vic, a famous artist who is now in his 70s. Seemingly out of nowhere, Vic falls in love with a woman in her 20s and begins to act strangely. Without introducing any of the family to Bella-Mae he marries her, moves to Italy and breaks off contact with his children.

Initially this scenario reminded me of The Carer by Deborah Moggach, but it goes in quite a different direction. Then I started to wonder if it was going to be a domestic thriller. But while there is a mystery, the plot is essentially about the siblings and how losing their father disrupts the dynamics between them.

For most of the book it's the three daughters who are in the centre of the action with Goose on the periphery, but gradually he becomes the character that you care the most about.

I didn’t want to stop reading this and by the end I realised I'd become fully invested in the siblings, particularly gentle Goose.

I received an ARC via Net Galley.

The Homemade God is the seventh novel by award-winning, best-selling British author, Rachel Joyce. When their seventy-six-year-old father, self-taught artist Vic summons the Kemp siblings to a noisy London noodle bar for a special announcement, their speculation is way off the mark: none of them guesses that he has found the love of his life, a title formerly bestowed only on their late mother.

They’re already surprised by his appearance: in a clean shirt with a funny goatee, drinking herbal tea made by his new love, Bella-Mae, instead of his usual chaotic style, covered with paint, so much paint it was in his ears, barking out insults and pouring too much red wine; and he’s lost weight. But the biggest shock is that Bella-Mae is twenty-seven, six years younger than his youngest daughter, Iris. They try to make their congratulations sound heartfelt.

This is so different from his usual liaisons: “You could say Vic Kemp was difficult, an alcoholic, a womanizer. You would be right on all counts.” His eldest, solicitor Netta, who takes care of his legals, is concerned. Second-born Susan, who looks after everything domestic for him, is suddenly redundant. Iris believes that Bella-Mae is good for his health, while Goose (Gustav), looking after his studio, predicts that Bella-Mae will be discarded just as Vic’s models are, when the current project, to be Vic’s masterpiece, is done.

Except that Vic claims that Bella-Mae is herself an artist, that she doesn’t really like his work, and that his masterpiece, on a huge canvas Goose has primed, will be different from anything else he’s done. None of them have met the elusive Bella-Mae.

Fast forward a few weeks, and Vic has taken Bella-Mae to the family’s Italian summer house, Villa Carlotta, on Isola San Guilio, where he will finish his great work. If Vic expects them to join the couple on the island, he hasn’t read their chagrin. But they’re really shocked when a text arrives a photo of them holding their marriage certificate. And nothing could have prepared them for the phone call telling them that Vic, a strong swimmer, has drowned in the lake.

So, eventually, it’s a grieving Bella-Mae they meet on the island, in the company of her protective cousin, Laszlo. Netta is convinced that Bella-Mae has poisoned their father, insists on an autopsy, and demands to know where Vic’s masterpiece is. The others, strangely, have mixed reactions and, soon enough, cracks appear in their strong sibling bond.

“She was dealing not simply with the loss of her father, but also her siblings turning into complete strangers… Even if they were behaving in ways that infuriated her, her siblings were all she had, and she really must not hate them.”

Of her art, Bella-Mae says “I like to see things in a different way. I kind of pull them apart to put them back together” and soon enough, the reader is wondering if that’s what she’s doing to the Kemp family. Each of them, she watches fixedly, as they deal with this monumental change in their lives. Goose “had to admit there was something about her he liked. Perhaps it was the intensity with which she listened.” Had she been drugging their father? Is she a rapacious sex-driven grifter, who has stolen his masterpiece and is about to help herself to their inheritance? Or is she a genuine, grieving widow?

What a wonderfully complex and layered tale Joyce gives the reader. her characters have depth and appeal, and there are twists, turns and red herrings to keep the reader guessing about the guilt or innocence of more than one figure. This brilliant novel might be Rachel Joyce’s best yet.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Random House UK Transworld.

I thought I would race through this book, and I probably could have but I didn’t want to. I wanted to be in Lake Orta with this family for as long as possible. They each were so flawed but I loved them individually. We follow four siblings in their 30s - Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris - as they try to deal with, and uncover the circumstances around , their father Vic’s death. Vic was a successful artist and had recently got married to a much younger woman whom the children have not met and don’t trust when they do, not helped as she brings along her cousin Lazlo who is even more of a stranger.

The ends of sections and chapters were not necessarily cliffhangers but they made me want to continue straight away. The same goes with the way Rachel dropped reveals almost as if they were casual asides when you least expect them.

This broke my heart in places as we delve into how each of the siblings remember their childhood and growing up in quite an unconventional household through to their adulthood and how they differ in reactions to the death.

Everything Rachel Joyce writes is so different, defying genres and this one does just the same as for the majority I wasn’t sure if it was a family drama or a mystery or even potentially a thriller with some of the ominous undertones I could feel. And I suppose that’s the point; nobody and no family does fit neatly into a box, especially if an event happens that blows a hole in the entire familial structure.

Thank you to Doubleday publishers and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I requested this book as the synopsis intrigued me, I enjoy books that explore relationships of different kinds and this looks into those of siblings with each other and of each with their father. The setting being in Italy appealed too, and was beautifully described. The story unexpectedly also became rather mysterious, just who is their father’s new wife, why did he marry her so suddenly, and more that I won’t mention so as not to spoil the plot for other readers.

The sibling’s relationships with each other were thoughtfully explored, and it was interesting to learn about them individually as well as together. It was fascinating to see how they divulged more of themselves to each other as it became them ‘against’ their father for a while. Also how they changed somewhat in response to the situation that developed, sometimes making assumptions that were proved wrong. I enjoyed this book more than a couple of the authors well known previous novels, and recommend it to others.