Fiction

The Answer to Everything

The Answer to Everything

  • Downloads：4885
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-30 10:51:52
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Luke Kennard
  • ISBN：0008444501
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Emily should be happy。 She has a nice husband （even if they rarely speak to each other， let alone sleep in the same bed）， two little boys she loves （even if a full night’s sleep is a distant memory） – and now， a brand-new house in which they can live out all of the bourgeois fantasies she knows she should be ashamed of。 But still she aches for something more。

Enter Alathea and Elliott， their new neighbours， and also parents of two young boys。 Alathea is intimidatingly confident and beautiful， but also disarmingly open and friendly。 And Elliott … Elliott is intriguing。 Dishevelled， talented， charming and a little lost， he seems as fascinated by Emily as she is by him， and soon their friendship has reached an intensity neither of them seem able to control。

As riotously funny as it is painfully moving， this is a novel about disappointment and yearning; about parenting and growing up; and the search for love， meaning and connection。

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Reviews

Sarah AF ，

As soon as I saw the line “soon their friendship has reached an intensity neither of them seem able to control” in the blurb， I knew this was for me。 Longing intensity is my absolute weakness when it comes to a book and this didn’t let me down at all。 While the connection between Emily and Elliott was very much the hook for me， there’s so very much in this book that feels so current and fresh。 How easily it is to get lost in the rhythm of parenthood/long-term relationship and the little “outs” t As soon as I saw the line “soon their friendship has reached an intensity neither of them seem able to control” in the blurb， I knew this was for me。 Longing intensity is my absolute weakness when it comes to a book and this didn’t let me down at all。 While the connection between Emily and Elliott was very much the hook for me， there’s so very much in this book that feels so current and fresh。 How easily it is to get lost in the rhythm of parenthood/long-term relationship and the little “outs” that people find to keep themselves feeling alive and an individual， the way that dynamics played out over messages are so temptingly disconnected and deceptive and then how those dynamics - orchestrated from behind a screen - aren’t always the reality you’ve lulled yourself into falling for。 Probably a tad on the navel-gazey side for some people， I was， predictably， once again lured into a navel-gazey world where the richness of the dialogue was completely captivating。 。。。more

Miles ，

Personal bias: Luke is a dear friend and gave me a copy and I'm in the acknowledgements。 But， also， all I really want to read are sad-funny-sad novels about texting and desire so I'm pretty sure this would be a five star home run for me either way。 Personal bias: Luke is a dear friend and gave me a copy and I'm in the acknowledgements。 But， also， all I really want to read are sad-funny-sad novels about texting and desire so I'm pretty sure this would be a five star home run for me either way。 。。。more

Jodie Matthews ，

Is this one of the best books I’ve read this year？ Yes， yes it is。 Luke Kennard gets right to the heart of what it means to be human and desired – and feared and lonely and loved。 This novel is witty， the dialogue is perfect， the WhatsApp correspondence between two characters that builds up throughout is the most brilliant fictionalisation of an emotional attachment I’ve ever seen。 There is no way to passively read this book – you start and you are IN。 IT。 right away， fully invested， fully invol Is this one of the best books I’ve read this year？ Yes， yes it is。 Luke Kennard gets right to the heart of what it means to be human and desired – and feared and lonely and loved。 This novel is witty， the dialogue is perfect， the WhatsApp correspondence between two characters that builds up throughout is the most brilliant fictionalisation of an emotional attachment I’ve ever seen。 There is no way to passively read this book – you start and you are IN。 IT。 right away， fully invested， fully involved， a little in love and completely mortified as you feel that same desperate hunger that the characters feel。 At times satirical of the middle-class， selective/exclusive community living and those with so much money they need not act human， The Answer to Everything also deals in the business of important emotional turmoil。 Class differences， takes on motherhood， post-partum psychosis， comparison and a shifting sense of self all feature throughout。 The characters are self-aware to the extent that it is painful — they judge themselves for their actions until those same actions become a form of self-flagellation。 I cannot fault this novel。 Not one sec to on bored me， not one character felt anything other than fully realised。 It’s out on 13/05/21， published by @4thestatebooks who sent me this proof copy， and it’s a must-read for me。 I’m not surprised that Kennard is a prolific poet – there is a nuance to the way he writes emotions that feels both touching and biting。 。。。more

Emily ，

‘Love airport bars – They exist completely outside of time。 Have you read Bergson？’ Nuclear families， absurdist vibes （could be reading it wrong; but strangely I felt a good amount of that）， fantastic narrative， a generous sprinkle of political and social satire， brilliant characterisation， Christianity/religion （but in a Fleabag: The Original Play kind of way; disclaimer: no hot priest in this novel） and what more？ The story arc – a fucking wild roller-coaster ride – I cried and shat my pan ‘Love airport bars – They exist completely outside of time。 Have you read Bergson？’ Nuclear families， absurdist vibes （could be reading it wrong; but strangely I felt a good amount of that）， fantastic narrative， a generous sprinkle of political and social satire， brilliant characterisation， Christianity/religion （but in a Fleabag: The Original Play kind of way; disclaimer: no hot priest in this novel） and what more？ The story arc – a fucking wild roller-coaster ride – I cried and shat my pants （in my head）。 Is it fair to it call a suburban thriller？ It’s definitely more moreish， more twisted than Kennard’s last novel， The Transition（which I’d enjoyed too）。 I found the flatbread， hummus， cold porridge， and wholemeal pizza references dotted about the novel quite disturbing – haunting even – like little spectral beasts in houses in the estate。 Should’ve clocked this; should’ve armoured up at the first moment of their appearance。 ‘She microwaved her second cup of coffee， meaning to sit outside her house with it again。 It was exactly things like this， as much as anything else， which made her faith so hard to maintain。 Letting her cup of coffee go cold and choosing to microwave it rather than making a fresh pot…which made her the kind of person who didn’t think she deserved a fresh pot of coffee…Was it possible， when everything felt so indescribably small and irrelevant， that she was really suspended on a wire over a ravine？ That part of the eternal， internal struggle was to find any meaning in the present moment at all？’ Things in the book that made other readers （other reviewers） uncomfortable doesn’t seem to faze me much whereas other things like – alcoholism and neglected childcare affected me more。 Actually， what bothered me the most was – Magda。 Who is Magda？！ Do I have to wait for more quick-witted/perceptive readers to enlighten me with the answer？ Or is that one of those open-to-multiple-interpretations sort of thing？ ‘…Who am I where am I what day is it？ The white curtain inflated and deflated against the open window and the details of her life and circumstances shimmered vaguely， like a retreating dream…She had a private joke with herself on dissociative mornings like this…’ ‘…god， I hate books。 God， I hate operating on people’s hearts， I hate hearts。。。Fucking look at them…God， I hate my parishioners…And God。’ The characterisation was just so stunning。 It’s easier to invent a saint than it is to whip up a/the Devil – you actually have to creative about it。 I like Elliot best （I didn’t feel this way until I’d finished the novel and gave it a night to process it）。 Everyone’s a little bit fucked up， yes， I know， humans innit？ I like that Elliot’s a sensitive but decisive lad。 Opinions differ of course， but I truly think that someone who just rationalises their feelings to continue half-arsedly loving another person is worse than someone who is blunt as fuck。 I don’t see that as being ‘responsible’; I think it’s fucked up if you compromise yourself for something like that。 You simply can’t love well otherwise。 How much can you compromise before you lose yourself and start to become a self-destructive， half-arsed version of yourself？ Also， I don’t subscribe to the idea/act of half-arsedly loving another person。 It’s the most time-wasting form of love ever。 A poet I adore very much， Don Paterson wrote in his book， The Book of Shadows: ‘Mediocre art is far worse than bad art。 Bad art does not waste our time。’ ‘Oh， I’m always half-cut on port… You can drink port any time of the day – it’s like Ribena。’ ‘We could never afford to divorce。 It’s beyond impractical…You get to a certain point and divorce is much of a luxury item as a fucking yacht。 Stable of ponies。 We actually need to readjust our most basic expectations…You two couldn’t afford to separate either， right？’ Port is the sad/tragic version of wine （to me at least）。 Every time when someone buys me port， it’s usually when they are about to confide in me something traumatic or problematic。 I think that a divorce shouldn’t be such a taboo。 And I enjoyed how the characters explored and played with the idea of a divorce。 A divorce is more oft than not a considerate and sensible decision。 Most divorced couples I know are much happier than those stuck in a constant cycle of ‘let’s make it work’。 And also， I know of an elderly divorced couple who got back together many years after because they both got cancer at around the same time – and they were like – chemo-buddies， yea？ And I think that is too cute。 ‘As well as allotment produce， Exquisite Crops carried a range of alternative dairy。 He crossed the estate drawing deeply on his electric cigarette – a rhubarb-and-custard flavour he wasn’t enjoying – and saw Magda coming towards him with her dog。’ ‘When we moved here she turned up at our house on the second day and said her old neighbours used to let her cross through their yard and throw her bag over the fence because it’s a real shortcut when you’re carrying shopping， so she was checking that that was still okay and we were like， Well no， it’s not okay， sorry…’ The only complaints I have about the novel are too petty/personal to affect my rating of the book。 Like for example， I want more ‘vaping’ bits – rhubarb and cream vape juice？ Smoking/vaping in literature gives me tons of vicarious pleasure （insert a preferred ex-smoker cheap flex here）。 Even though the adults were interesting， the children were pretty boring characters。 They felt like background noise。 Was that the intention？ I’d also love it if ‘mental health’ was taken a bit further。 Medication， and ugly， messy breakdowns could have been great material for more dark humour。 I thought the characters’ mental instabilities/problems were portrayed in ways that were too pretty/clean。 I had the same issue with The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis when it comes to that。 Oh， and also， I hate the cover design very much！ ‘We can talk about my mother if you like – I might need a couple more drinks。’ ‘…brandy and milk as a nightcap… holding two opaque glasses…I feel so alive and so dead at the same time…’ A couple of my favourites above， but shared/left in ambiguous chunks to prevent spoiling anything。 The novel made me think of Phoebe Waller-Bridge， and Emily Brönte。 PWB because of the play-like， script-like quality of the novel – and the superbly well written dialogues。 This would make an interesting play; and/but instead of child actors - just use some kind of pre-recorded background sounds。 Also， the type of ‘humour’ is slightly similar to PWB。 PWB has ruined me for life in the best way possible。 And by that I meant that whenever someone in a piece of literature （basically non-visual art） says to a priest， ‘Father， tell me what to do！’ I automatically think， ‘Kneel’ （if you know， you know）。 I thought of Brönte because Wuthering Heights has complex， and not-easy-to-like characters （as with Kennard’s）。 And if I'm comparing a novel to the writing of two of my fav。 writers， I must have really enjoyed reading this very， very much。 Kennard's novel is also available as an audiobook on Audible （read by the author）。 Kennard's 'style' is a little strange （in a hard-to-put-it-in-a-box/genre kind of way） but in a good way; an easily acquired taste for sure。 I've listened to the 5-minutes sample of the audiobook on Audible， and I thought that that was fantastic （and I'm really fussy about audiobook narrators）。 'You can walk away and change nothing…you wake up， you stand， you go to your corner and you pray for mercy， on yourself and on everyone else。 You do that every day。 Read the prayers out loud。 Read Psalm 51。 It doesn’t matter if you feel nothing but tiredness and annoyance。' And as always， a tiny playlist to end my review; I think it fits the vibe of the novel quite well。The Less I Know Better – Tame ImpalaUnder My Skin – Rachael YamagataThe Answer to Everything – Del Shannon ‘How long before you found another Emily？’ 。。。more

Molly Moore ，

Where to start with this one。。。。。 let's tackle the elephant in the room that is part of the book description"As riotously funny as it is painfully moving"It is absolutely not riotously funny。 I have no idea who read this book and made that statement but it is not funny。 It is indeed a moving read， a bit like watching a very slow train crash where you know everything is slowing going very wrong。The book deals with themes of love but also cheating， monogamy， kink and emotionally abusive behaviour Where to start with this one。。。。。 let's tackle the elephant in the room that is part of the book description"As riotously funny as it is painfully moving"It is absolutely not riotously funny。 I have no idea who read this book and made that statement but it is not funny。 It is indeed a moving read， a bit like watching a very slow train crash where you know everything is slowing going very wrong。The book deals with themes of love but also cheating， monogamy， kink and emotionally abusive behaviour and does so in a fairly brutal way and some of it in a really poor way。 For example the kink is about how Elliot and Alathea get off on fighting and breaking each others stuff until they are so wound up they f&ck。 There is no nuance to it though and for intelligent people they seem to have done no research or reading into kinks and how to enjoy them in a safe but sexy way。 Considering Alathea is some sort of therapist it just feels off。 There is nothing particularly likable about 3 of the 4 main characters: Elliot is a complete and utter narcissist， Alathea seems to enjoying being his accomplice in many ways and the character of Steve doesn't really feature apart from the fact that Emily needed a husband to make the plot work， but he is a non figure or is completely passive in the the story。 Emily is the only one with some slight redeeming features but at times even she was frustrating in her ineptitude and lack of fire。 The other thing I found frustrating is the how it deals with monogamy and cheating。 Clearly it raises questions about what is cheating。 The answer is whatever you and partner decide it is but the conversation around monogamy and and non-monogamy is cloudy here because what Elliot is doing to the other women is not OK regardless of his arrangement with his wife。 The key to non-monogamy is open honesty for all。 Everyone needs to know what the deal is and what they are getting involved with。 Otherwise， in this case， it is just abusive。 As someone who is non-monogamous this book was quite frustrating from that point of view because it is confusing non-monogamy with an abusive narcissist。 Non-monogamy can be wonderful and beautiful and a healthy option for many people。 Elliot is mostly utterly incapable of any type of healthy relationship regardless of it's status and needs some fairly intense therapy to help him stop the cycle of abusiveThe one other thing about this book that I hated was the ending。 It is one of those books that kind of stops and we are meant to believe that Emily， a character with a track record of fragile mental healthy， appears to me mostly OK at the end of it having turned back to her religion for solace。 It just left me going wait， what？ I am giving this book 3 stars but I will say， it did get me thinking and I did feel quite passionate about some of it and the themes it explores。 It is a good read if an unsatisfying one 。。。more

Liv （llivsbooks） ，

This was wonderful and right up my street - a big thank you to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for an ARC。 Emily and Steven plus their two young children move to a fancy new build estate - the first home they've owned， achievable through the cheap living costs in an almost forced and artificial community。 Emily is cripplingly lonely， her husband Steven is emotionally unavailable and Emily is still coming to terms with living in the aftermath of post-natal psychosis。 Their new， attractive and intrigu This was wonderful and right up my street - a big thank you to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for an ARC。 Emily and Steven plus their two young children move to a fancy new build estate - the first home they've owned， achievable through the cheap living costs in an almost forced and artificial community。 Emily is cripplingly lonely， her husband Steven is emotionally unavailable and Emily is still coming to terms with living in the aftermath of post-natal psychosis。 Their new， attractive and intriguing neighbours Elliott and Alathea offer a welcome distraction to their odd estate， but things soon get out of hand。。。The Answer to Everything is a story looking into betrayal， obsession and the human need for love and attention。 Each character is so unlikeable in their own way， yet the story is so gripping and tense; I devoured this in a couple of sittings。 。。。more

Tracy B ，

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC。Emily， Stephen & their two boys move across the street to Aletha， Elliot & their two boys。 Emily and Elliot get talking until continuous conversations through text messages become more。 I struggled a little with this book as the characters weren’t particularly likeable yet I still had to keep on reading to find out what happens， I was glad I did as there are a few good twists。 The book really makes you think about at what point those harmless messages become harm Thank you Netgalley for this ARC。Emily， Stephen & their two boys move across the street to Aletha， Elliot & their two boys。 Emily and Elliot get talking until continuous conversations through text messages become more。 I struggled a little with this book as the characters weren’t particularly likeable yet I still had to keep on reading to find out what happens， I was glad I did as there are a few good twists。 The book really makes you think about at what point those harmless messages become harmful or were they never harmless in the first place？ 。。。more

Kirsty ，

The Answer to Everything - Luke KennardI was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to 4th Estate and Netgalley。 Emily should be happy。 She has a nice husband （even if they rarely speak to each other， let alone sleep in the same bed）， two little boys she loves （even if a full night’s sleep is a distant memory） – and now， a brand-new house in which they can live out all of the bourgeois fantasies she knows she should be ashamed of。 But still she aches for something more。En The Answer to Everything - Luke KennardI was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to 4th Estate and Netgalley。 Emily should be happy。 She has a nice husband （even if they rarely speak to each other， let alone sleep in the same bed）， two little boys she loves （even if a full night’s sleep is a distant memory） – and now， a brand-new house in which they can live out all of the bourgeois fantasies she knows she should be ashamed of。 But still she aches for something more。Enter Alathea and Elliott， their new neighbours， and also parents of two young boys。 Alathea is intimidatingly confident and beautiful， but also disarmingly open and friendly。 And Elliott … Elliott is intriguing。 Dishevelled， talented， charming and a little lost， he seems as fascinated by Emily as she is by him， and soon their friendship has reached an intensity neither of them seem able to control。This book is well-written but I really struggled to connect to any of the characters。 I found the book got off to a slow start， but had twists at the end that I could not see coming。 There are a lot of text message conversations which I found difficult to read but I suspect this was due to the poor formatting in the eARC。 Rating 3/5 。。。more

Morgan Schulman ，

I’m dead。 Dead on the floor。 This book killed me。 Dead。 I’m giving it five stars。Amazing but brutal。

B。S。 Casey ，

Genre: Literary Fiction | Fiction | Romance Release Date: Expected 13th May 2021 Emily has everything。 A husband， two beautiful children， a great job and a new home in a trendy neighbourhood with wonderfully friendly neighbours。But her and her husband don't talk anymore， she hasn't slept properly since the boys were born， she doesn't want to keep working so much， her estate is full of aging hipsters， and the neighbours might be an issue。 Alathea is beautiful， confident and totally intimidating Genre: Literary Fiction | Fiction | Romance Release Date: Expected 13th May 2021 Emily has everything。 A husband， two beautiful children， a great job and a new home in a trendy neighbourhood with wonderfully friendly neighbours。But her and her husband don't talk anymore， she hasn't slept properly since the boys were born， she doesn't want to keep working so much， her estate is full of aging hipsters， and the neighbours might be an issue。 Alathea is beautiful， confident and totally intimidating and her husband Elliot is 。。。 a problem。 He's charming， and funny， and understanding and she's finding herself undeniably drawn to the couple。 But too soon her friendship with Elliot is all-consuming and out of control。 They should be happy with their lives， but underneath they still want something more。I'm just going to say it - everyone in this book was extremely unlikeable。 They were dysfunctional， selfish， and destructive but somehow I was still desperately searching for their redeeming qualities and wanting to know more about them。 The stark contrast between our two married couples was jarring - both messed up in their own unique ways that would never be obvious on the surface。The Answer to Everything is a story about obsession， posession and jealousy thay can trickle from relationships into someones whole life - setting us up with a simmering tension that keeps the reader on edge without letting up - even through to the very end。 Analysing the differences between just being stuck in a rut or finding yourself stuck in a life you don't want， this book called out to the part deep inside us that is desperate for love and connection。 I read through this in one sitting - it was easy to read and quite addictive - although there were a lot of long text message exchanges that went on for quite some time but still added something valuable and the ending was most definitely not anything I saw coming but left me wanting just that little bit more - no doubt completely on purpose。 This was a story about counting your blessings， but your crosses too - It was strange and uncomfortable and awkward and I loved every minute of it。 RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Thank you to Luke Kennard， Fourth Estate and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review。 。。。more

Kate Wilson ，

This book is well-written and constructed but I just couldn't get past how little I liked any of the characters。 There are some good twists at the end which helped me feel a little more sympathetic towards Emily， the main character。 This book is well-written and constructed but I just couldn't get past how little I liked any of the characters。 There are some good twists at the end which helped me feel a little more sympathetic towards Emily， the main character。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Answer to Everything

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Answer to Everything&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Answer to Everything&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0