When We Were Bad

Charlotte Mendelson

2008 Nominee

Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction

17 August 2023
9781035020195
336 pages

Synopsis

When We Were Bad is a spellbinding, witty and poignant portrayal of a family in crisi, in love, and in denial.

'As intelligent as it is funny. A beautifully observed literary comedy as well as a painfully accurate description of one big old family mess. A joy' – Observer


In North London, Claudia Rubin is in her heyday. Wife, mother, rabbi – and sometimes moral voice of the nation – everyone wants to be with her at her son Leo's glorious wedding. That is, until Leo jilts his bride, and the gleaming bubble surrounding the Rubins threatens to burst.

Frances – Claudia's calm, mature, married daughter – tries to hold the nucleus of the family together, but the stress forces her to re-examine her own life, leading her to make a decision as shocking as Leo's choice to bolt.

And Claudia's husband, Norman, has an uncharacteristic secret. And, whether he likes it or not, he is powerless to stop it coming out . . .

'A comedy with the warmest of hearts and the most deliciously subversive of agendas' - Marie Claire

'Fast-paced and engaging. Brilliant, touching and true' - Naomi Alderman, bestselling author of The Power

As intelligent as it is funny. A beautifully observed literary comedy as well as a painfully accurate description of one big old family mess. A joy
Fast-paced and engaging. Brilliant, touching and true
A dazzling portrait of a family in crisis