A literary work of art! Think blank canvas with a centrepiece of a larger than life father surrounded by three daughters and a son - make them as colourful, vibrant and lifelike as is possible then bring them to life in the pages that follow! Vic Kemp is a successful artist, not brilliant but good enough to own a beautiful villa on Lake Orta in Italy. His children adore him, each one of them vying for his attention. They are a close knit quartet in constant touch with each other until Vic becomes embroiled with a female younger than his forty something children! His death is a dreadful shock especially under suspicious circumstances. What follows is a beautiful, intriguing tale of sibling rivalry, revelation, growth and a wonderful sense of justice. I absolutely loved it!

This is a thought-provoking novel about the damage parents can do to their children. Living in the shadow of their successful, self-made, larger-than-life father (Vic Kemp) four siblings convene (following his death) at the family, lake-side, holiday home in Italy. The circumstances of Vic's death pose many unanswered questions and further challenge the relationship between the siblings, unearthing dark truths and forcing them to confront inner resentments and feelings. A sensitive exploration of the aftermath of growing up under the wing of a narcissistic parent with believable, well-developed, characters.

Artist Vic Kemp shocks his four adult children by marrying Bella-Mae, a woman 50 years younger. Soon after, Vic is found dead at his villa in Italy, and his children gather to uncover the truth about their father, his mysterious wife, and a missing painting.

This book is really about the siblings—Netta, Susan, Goose, and Iris—and their complicated relationships. Growing up with a famous and difficult father left its mark on each of them. As they deal with their grief and anger, long-hidden feelings and rivalries come to the surface.

The story is emotional, with vivid characters and a mix of sadness and hope. While it’s not a happy or quick read, it’s beautifully written and leaves you thinking about love, forgiveness, and what truly brings families together.

I appreciate that Rachel Joyce is a well-regarded author but this is the first of her novels that I have read. I imagine that readers will interpret it in many different lights - for me, ‘The Homemade God’ is a study of childhood trauma and its lasting effect. The four adult siblings at the centre of this story lost their mother when they were very young and all feel her absence so keenly it has become part of their very natures. Add to this, a narcissistic father, a homemade god, famous self-taught artist Vic Kemp, whose children understandably regard as their whole world whilst he makes tremendous emotional demands on them, and fallout is inevitable.
We look on as this close-knit family grows more and more dysfunctional, all because of the unknowable Bella-Mae, a young woman with whom their father is obsessed. They marry hastily in Italy on an island by Lake Orta and, soon after, Vic drowns during an early morning swim. Distraught, the siblings rush out to claim their father’s body. Foul play is in their air and they want vengeance. What has the mysterious Bella-Mae done and where is Vic’s will?
Rachel Joyce cleverly dissects the siblings’ personalities, allowing the reader to understand why they all react so differently to their father’s death and his mysterious ‘child-bride.’ It’s a messy and sad experience. The possibilities explored in the novel’s final chapters reinforce the theme that much in life is down to chance and we react accordingly - as much because of our past as of our present. A thought-provoking read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I haven’t read all of Rachel Joyce’s previous books, but thoroughly enjoyed Miss Benson’s Beetle and was expecting something equally charming and quirky from her latest. Whilst I think there is charm and quirk aplenty in The Homemade God, it’s employed in a very different, much subtler and darker way and I loved it! This is a family saga about four adult siblings, Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris, and their father Vic Kemp, a larger than life, self-made, world-famous artist, notorious womanizer and alcoholic. Like planets revolving around a sun, each sibling has grown up in his shadow and has (both consciously and unconsciously) shaped their identity in relation to him and their place in the sibling pecking order. When their father tells them he is marrying Bella-Mae, a 27 year old around 50 years his junior, the siblings are shocked and furious. But in other news, he says his bride-to-be has cured his artist’s block and he’s about to commence a new painting – his best yet. However, when Vic elopes to his crumbling mansion on Lake Orta where the siblings spent much of their childhood, and is then found dead, the siblings suspect foul play, especially when neither the will nor the last painting can be found. They each rush to Lake Orta where grief swirls with heated passions. Secrets are revealed, but none of them are quite prepared to hear the truth.

Although the figure of Vic Kemp looms large in this book, it is really all about the siblings and their dynamics. I was kept enthralled by how each of the siblings have grown up and made choices that have shaped their characters, either to try to gain affection from their father or in competition with their other siblings which is really masterfully handled. They seem like a close coherent group at the start of the book, but the plot progresses, it peels back the fracture lines. It hits emotionally to see how easily the figure of Bella-Mae forces those gaps wider and the sibling dynamic disintegrates. This book made my heart ache, and I couldn’t wait to return to spend time with the characters who are so vividly drawn. I think the plot is deceptively simple, yet there’s so much more going un underneath the surface and even though I think the ending won’t work for everyone, I loved it and thought it was perfect. I can’t wait to press this book into the hands of friends and family!

Having loved Rachel Joyce's previous books I was expecting 'The Homemade God' to be of a similar nature. This book seemed much darker to Rachel's previous offerings but was still very enjoyable combining family dramas with a degree of mystery that kept me engaged from start to finish.
The story centres around the fractures in a family of four adult siblings brought together when their father re-marries a much younger woman and then meets a premature death as a result of drowning near the family villa in Italy.
All the siblings have hidden secrets and none are particularly likeable initially but as the back stories are revealed things change and the ending skillfully brings things to a satisfying conclusion.
Deeply reflective and very well written.
I am grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this enjoyable book.

I can’t say that I really enjoyed this book but I also can’t say that I disliked it. This is a family saga but unfortunately it is far too slow in parts and too long in general. I did not like the characters but I’m not sure the reader is supposed to. All in all I was slightly disappointed.

I adore Rachel Joyce's books and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. It started well and I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding Bella-Mae but I felt it was quite a long book and it really didn't need to be.

Rachel Joyce is excellent at writing characters and it is no different in this book. Each of the siblings have such different characters and this came across really clearly in the novel. I felt like I knew each and everyone of them and I cared about what happened to each individual.

The Homemade God is so different from all of Rachel Joyce's other books and to be completely honest, it I didn't find it as engaging. Having said that, it is a really good read and I would recommend it.

This is a very different book to any of Rachel Joyce books I have read before.

It’s a story about a famous artist who suddenly announces he’s marrying a much younger woman. His 4 children are furious, not helped by them never having met the woman.

Vic decamps to his Italian villa with Bella-Mae and asks the children to join them for his wedding . They decide not to go as they don’t agree with it. The next they hear is a phone call to say Vic has died after an early morning swim in the lake. The bulk of the story is then set in Italy while they try and find out about how Vic died and if Bella-Mae had anything to do with it.

It’s a good family saga and everything is not what it seems.

Rachel Joyce tells a touching story about siblings dealing with the loss of their father and the cracks in their relationships that come to light. As they uncover the truth about their dad's life and legacy, they also face their own struggles and learn what really holds them together.

While the story has some beautiful moments, it can feel a bit slow at times, and the characters might test your patience. Still, it’s a heartfelt read about love, grief, and family.

I have read & loved Rachel Joyce's previous books & this one didn't disappoint.
It feels different to her usual style, darker.
The reader is taken on a journey of family grief, jealousy & reflection, but in the end it's all about each character showing joy, love and hope.
The author has included beautiful descriptions & humour throughout with great character development.
I highly recommend this book.

Four siblings, bound together by their famous artist father, gather at the family's house by Lake Orta in Italy. Their father has recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his masterpiece. Now he is dead, there is no sign of a painting, only the mysterious Bella Mae.

An intriguing look into family relationships and how we carry our roles in the family through to adulthood. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and it took me a while to finish this book, but it's well written, real, and worth a read.

RACHEL JOYCE - THE HANDMADE GOD*****
Totally brilliant, is how I would describe this book. The author of Harold Fry has excelled herself.
Set in one of the smallest and prettiest - yet to British travellers lesser-known Italian lakes - this is the story of a family torn apart by the death of their artist father after his marriage to a woman many decades his junior with all that implies for their inheritance.
I have been many times to Orta over the years so I can vouch for the authenticity of her descriptions. Even the hotel which I first stayed in being derelict at the time the story is set. It must be one of the most romantic squares in the world, an opera set of pastel-coloured houses and restaurants opposite a tiny island with its convent and narrow car-less streets.
The family have owned a villa on the island for years and their children have been brought up there. Each of the three girls and one boy have very different personalities. Ones that clash and disintegrate after the father’s death.
Don’t want to say more of the story, but the final part is a revelation of narrative skill and surprise.
Highly recommended. One of my favourite novels of the year.

Whilst the story was good, this was a ridiculously long book for it. There was a lot of irrelevant sub plots and waffle which really knocked my rating as it took away from the enjoyment of the story.

I have read and loved all of Rachel Joyce's books but I really struggled with The Homemade God.
Vic Kemp is an artist and widowed father to four children; Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris. Vic's art is commercial rather than beautiful and his children were neglected after their mother died shortly after giving birth to Iris.
As adults they all have issues but are close and reliant on Vic. When he summons them to lunch to tell them he is in love with Bella-Mae they are blindsided.
Before they can meet Bella-Mae they get the news that Vic is dead. He was swimming in Lake Orta where the family have a villa. They all rush to Italy and so begins the implosion of the Kemp siblings relationship.
I really did not like the characters in this book, apart perhaps from Goose (real name Gustav) but I am glad I preserved with it.
The book shows that families are difficult, that most people have grudges and niggles with family members and what happens when those issues are voiced. But it also reminds us that blood really is thicker than water and that there is a way back to those we love.

The Homemade God is one of those books that will stay with you for a long time. You'll want to race through it but you won't want to leave those strong characters behind. Note that I didn't call them likeable - some of them are, but they are also deeply flawed - but my goodness they are strong and written incredibly vividly. I feel like every reader would find something to relate to in one of the Kemp children.

This is a story of how fragile our family ties can be, set against a backdrop of Italy and the world of art. The Kemp children have always been incredibly bonded through losing their mother in childhood and growing up under a complicated father, but that bond quickly frays when they come together under one roof to navigate a traumatic family event. Long tempered rivalries and long hidden traumas quickly come to the surface and they begin to turn on each other instead of looking inwards to find the real reasons behind their justifiably complex feelings.

I don't want to say too much about the plot because it is something each reader needs and deserves to unravel themselves, But what I will say is that this is yet another stellar piece of work from Rachel Joyce, whose skill of developing characters quickly and deeply is one of the best in the current generation of writers. I adored it.

Hmmm, I'm not sure on this one. I came to it wanting to love it: family drama, a mysterious murder, an Italian setting, but it just dragged on too long for me. Unfortunately I didn't end up finishing it as I found the middle bit dragged so much, and the characters weren't likeable. The writing is beautiful, but the plot didn't have enough to keep me caring about the outcome.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I am really not sure what to say about this book and think it is best I leave this to others. I like this author but this one was hard going.

This was an excellent read on a very long flight. Engrossing, not too heavy and a very nice use of defferent perspectives to see a situation. and events.

For me, the middle section went on a little too long. But, this is a very clever and nuanced story telling. You are gently led up a garden path to discover it is a dead end and then re-directed. The skill of Rachel Joyce that this was not annoying but refreshing.

Having been quite gloomy and disturbing at times all ends well. Always a bonus.

Sadly, the most interesting character, Bella Rae, has the least to say. I would have liked to know a great deal more about her.

This was an enjoyable read.

When popular artist Vic Kemp drowns in the lake near his holiday villa in Italy - which he shares with his newlywed (and much younger) wife, Bella Mae - his son and three daughters head out to find out the truth about what happened, and, in particular, track down his will and last painting. But they find out more than they bargain for, particularly about each other, about their father and their relationships within the family.
It's a long time before the reader and the siblings meet Bella Mae. It's a bit like in the film Jaws where we don't encounter the shark for well over an hour. The anticipation builds up for the big reveal although with Bella Mae it's substantially less of a shock.
Through their interactions with each other, and with the grieving widow, the siblings reveal unpleasant sides to themselves which create conflict in this bohemian and close family. The overbearing presence of the father they all adored is very evident throughout the novel, even though he is dead.
I came to this book with so much hope, as I have enjoyed Rachel Joyce's previous novels very much. There's something about them - quirky, eccentric, funny and full of humanity, wrapped up in off-beat situations - which makes them a warm and satisfying read. The Homemade God, however, is much darker, and populated by unlikeable characters coming to terms with loss, what might have beens and the place they have made for themselves in the world.
The novel is well written, good on dialogue and setting and, ultimately, hope but not enough of the latter for me, sorry.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance reader copy of this book.