If I Knew You Were Going to be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go
Judy Chicurel
A nostalgic, insightful and poignant story of women's lives in the 1970s. 'Raw, nostalgic, utterly compelling and very, very cool... A mind-blowingly impressive debut' Eva Rice
There are books that stay with you long after you've read them. This is one of those.
Katie has been hanging around Comanche Street for three years and there are still times when it feels like she is watching a movie starring everyone in the world, except her.
Through sun-kissed days by the ocean and hazy nights in drifter bars, through love and death and pain, while the Vietnam war rages distantly and yet disturbingly close, she yearns to belong and never dreams that all the others want is to escape.
Night after night, they wait for something to happen.
It's summer, and anything is possible . . .
A powerful coming-of-age tale reminiscent of Anne Tyler, Alice Hoffman and Melissa Banks.
* Author interview included
Product Details
About Judy Chicurel
Reviews for If I Knew You Were Going to be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go
SUNDAY MIRROR
Raw, nostalgic, utterly compelling and very, very cool... A mind-blowingly impressive debut
Eva Rice 'Tender and brave storytelling'
GRAZIA
Despite the dark sides, If I Knew is gorgeous and thoughtful; a compelling, wonderful look at a particular point in time
EMERALD STREET
Chicurel's novel has its dark moments, but the overriding sentiment is one of acceptance, resilience and the enduring power of friendship. A coming-of-age-tale with a haunting quality 4
The Lady
The story hooked me in so I felt the characters' pain and hope
WOMAN & HOME
Beautifully written prose... Rarely do books evoke so viscerally a place, so tangibly a time and such a broad sweep of big themes
Hannah Beckerman
Beautiful and heart-breaking at once. A mesmerising, compulsive combination
Adele Parks This book will haunt you long after you've finished
harpersbazaar.co.uk
'A thought-provoking debut novel'
CLOSER
'This love story set in 70s Long Island is guaranteed to have you gripped'
NOW
Beautifully evocative
Observer
Chicurel [is] a gifted and versatile writer, and always draws you in
Sunday Express