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After Everything
For readers who were swept away by Under the Tuscan Sun, charmed by Le Divorce, and intrigued by The Descendants, comes a heartwarming novel about midlife coming-of-age.
It’s never too late to make amends.
In contemporary London and rural France, a small group of friends reach their late fifties and discover that life still presents them with surprises and unexpected chances for new beginnings.
Recently divorced and seeking to reinvent herself, Penny moves to a picturesque town in France and renounces sex—until she meets an irresistible American philosophy professor. Meanwhile, handsome and unmarried Peter falls head over heels for the first time in his life with plump, sexy, and fiercely independent Frieda; David and Angie face challenges in their childless and co-dependent marriage; and Jeremy, twice divorced and the most successful of them all, develops a destructive interest in underage girls.
At the heart of the story is Sandy, Penny’s ex-husband and a once acclaimed songwriter who realizes too late that he took his marriage and two children for granted. He wants to make amends with his family, but first he’ll have to confront a secret tragedy that has haunted him for decades.
Wonderfully wise and deeply engaging, After Everything provides an insightful look into the complicated relationships we all experience at some point in our lives. As this beautifully written debut novel unfolds, some relationships blossom, some fade, but all reveal the ambivalent nature of the ties that bind us together.
It’s never too late to make amends.
In contemporary London and rural France, a small group of friends reach their late fifties and discover that life still presents them with surprises and unexpected chances for new beginnings.
Recently divorced and seeking to reinvent herself, Penny moves to a picturesque town in France and renounces sex—until she meets an irresistible American philosophy professor. Meanwhile, handsome and unmarried Peter falls head over heels for the first time in his life with plump, sexy, and fiercely independent Frieda; David and Angie face challenges in their childless and co-dependent marriage; and Jeremy, twice divorced and the most successful of them all, develops a destructive interest in underage girls.
At the heart of the story is Sandy, Penny’s ex-husband and a once acclaimed songwriter who realizes too late that he took his marriage and two children for granted. He wants to make amends with his family, but first he’ll have to confront a secret tragedy that has haunted him for decades.
Wonderfully wise and deeply engaging, After Everything provides an insightful look into the complicated relationships we all experience at some point in our lives. As this beautifully written debut novel unfolds, some relationships blossom, some fade, but all reveal the ambivalent nature of the ties that bind us together.
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2014
10 people are currently reading
568 people want to read
About the author
Suellen Dainty
5 books58 followersI worked as a journalist and television producer after leaving university. It never occurred to me to write fiction. Like many working single mothers, I was too busy and too tired to try for anything more.
But my two children grew up. Finally I could ditch the day job. I moved from London to a small farm in Somerset, where I ran a B and B and learned how to be a short order cook and iron mountains of bedlinen very quickly. I also studied creative writing at the University of Oxford and at Bath Spa University.Then a fight against breast cancer gave me the impetus I needed. No time to lose!
At the age of 62, my first novel, After Everything, was published by Simon and Schuster in the U.S. and by Picador in Australia. I'm currently writing my second, in between looking out the window at my sheep and my hens.
But my two children grew up. Finally I could ditch the day job. I moved from London to a small farm in Somerset, where I ran a B and B and learned how to be a short order cook and iron mountains of bedlinen very quickly. I also studied creative writing at the University of Oxford and at Bath Spa University.Then a fight against breast cancer gave me the impetus I needed. No time to lose!
At the age of 62, my first novel, After Everything, was published by Simon and Schuster in the U.S. and by Picador in Australia. I'm currently writing my second, in between looking out the window at my sheep and my hens.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 2, 2014
Like Deborah Moggach, Suellen portrays with poignant and gentle humour the hopes and foibles of people who should know better. It kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen to people who I now feel I have met somewhere in London and count among my friends. With beautifully evoked scenes in France and London, this book was a great pleasure. Highly recommended. Looking forward to the next book.
August 14, 2016
ARC from Reading Room
February 25, 2016
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I love how this author is able to write so well from both the male and female perspective. This is the story about a group of friends with whom we share their many insecurities, regrets, habits, innermost thoughts and faults as they grow older and their priorities are changing. Each one very different in their approach to life, yet there for each other through thick and thin. Beautifully told, this story kept me very interested in finding out how these characters end up. The story takes place in England, France and India, and the author gives us a wonderful feel for the locations. This story made me think about how, when we are younger and invincible we are quite self centered, and how we hopefully learn some lessons along the way that will bring us happiness and a sense of our true selves.
I love how this author is able to write so well from both the male and female perspective. This is the story about a group of friends with whom we share their many insecurities, regrets, habits, innermost thoughts and faults as they grow older and their priorities are changing. Each one very different in their approach to life, yet there for each other through thick and thin. Beautifully told, this story kept me very interested in finding out how these characters end up. The story takes place in England, France and India, and the author gives us a wonderful feel for the locations. This story made me think about how, when we are younger and invincible we are quite self centered, and how we hopefully learn some lessons along the way that will bring us happiness and a sense of our true selves.
August 1, 2014
This is a beautifully written and gripping book with an important theme: the damage that can be caused to an individual and those around them by a buried secret. The characters are varied and convincing, the locations in London, France and India are successfully evoked and there is plenty to entertain and delight the reader along the way. However the success of the book lies chiefly in the mature wisdom that is brought to bear on the lives of the two main characters. They both thought that a tragedy and a lie could be buried, but beneath the male bravado that has united them, and their two other male friends, they have both been damaged by a pact of silence maintained over decades. You will keep turning the pages to find out what is in store for them and you won't be disappointed.
March 31, 2014
A great character study of people around my age who are still working out what matters in their lives. There is a clarity in Dainty's portrayal of motivation, insecurity, fears and fractured relationships. Yet, it offers some hope without becoming trite.
January 31, 2017
This didn't exactly blew my mind but I never got bored with it either. The characters actually grew on me and I'm glad I decided to read it
February 10, 2022
I really enjoyed the characters and development of relationships in this novel. The realistic treatment of friendships, family dynamics, and alumni gatherings was fictional enough to be engaging and relatable. I think the messages of hope will linger with me longer than most for-fun reads. Definitely worth a book club discussion!
May 5, 2017
Interesting read about friendship, loyalty and family. It felt real and relatable and, unusually for a female writer, was partly written from a middle-aged male perspective.
June 27, 2022
I really tried to get into this book but just couldn't. Didn't hold my interest at all that I ended up giving up about 50 pages in which is not like me at all.
April 20, 2025
Could not put this down! A wonderful story about relationships and mending what you think you have lost!
October 29, 2014
I received After Everything as part of a Goodreads giveaway.
A washed-up songwriter facing the breakup of his marriage, Sandy steps off a curb one day and is hit by a car in an apparent suicide attempt. Surrounding Sandy are his ex-wife Penny, now living in France, their two children, Matt and Emily, who have traveled to India in a bout of soul-searching, and Penny's and Sandy's circle of middle-aged friends: Jeremy, a successful businessman with a troubling attraction to young girls, David and Angie, muddling through a long but childless marriage that has gone tepid, and Peter, who finds himself pining for a woman who seems to constantly slip just out of reach.
The characterizations and setting are interesting, but for some reason the story didn't grab me too strongly. As a twenty-something, I suspect that it's a time of my life I haven't experienced yet, so it's a lot of situations and feelings that I'm not familiar with. In short, I may be too young to fully appreciate it. Dainty is an excellent author, great at crafting three-dimensional characters and vibrant settings. Looking forward to reading more from her in the future.
A washed-up songwriter facing the breakup of his marriage, Sandy steps off a curb one day and is hit by a car in an apparent suicide attempt. Surrounding Sandy are his ex-wife Penny, now living in France, their two children, Matt and Emily, who have traveled to India in a bout of soul-searching, and Penny's and Sandy's circle of middle-aged friends: Jeremy, a successful businessman with a troubling attraction to young girls, David and Angie, muddling through a long but childless marriage that has gone tepid, and Peter, who finds himself pining for a woman who seems to constantly slip just out of reach.
The characterizations and setting are interesting, but for some reason the story didn't grab me too strongly. As a twenty-something, I suspect that it's a time of my life I haven't experienced yet, so it's a lot of situations and feelings that I'm not familiar with. In short, I may be too young to fully appreciate it. Dainty is an excellent author, great at crafting three-dimensional characters and vibrant settings. Looking forward to reading more from her in the future.
September 10, 2014
Sandy and Penny are the center couple in this tale of four male friends in their 50s who have maintained close contact since school years. They are recently divorced and Penny has moved to France in a cottage she loves being alone in. Peter is a bachelor, Tim and Angie are childless, and Jeremy, another focal character, is not all he seems to be.
Sandy, a former successful songwriter and present alcoholic, ends up in the hospital having stepped off a curb and being hit by a car. Suicide attempt? Maybe. He doesn't remember.
These interwoven lives show the benefits and dangers of close friendships. Yes, there is support but also betrayal.
Sandy and Penny's children migrate to India for meaning and enlightenment and Sandy's journey to mend fences with them is a fascinating travelogue.
Overall, and interesting and gripping story make this book a worthwhile read.
Sandy, a former successful songwriter and present alcoholic, ends up in the hospital having stepped off a curb and being hit by a car. Suicide attempt? Maybe. He doesn't remember.
These interwoven lives show the benefits and dangers of close friendships. Yes, there is support but also betrayal.
Sandy and Penny's children migrate to India for meaning and enlightenment and Sandy's journey to mend fences with them is a fascinating travelogue.
Overall, and interesting and gripping story make this book a worthwhile read.
April 9, 2016
I loved the premise of the story. Being a member of the mid-life coming of age generation, I was eager to read this book. I was a little disappointed as I had difficulty sticking with it and I wasn't riveted by the story line. I think that some of the characters could have been developed a little better having said that, I enjoyed watching Sandy grow and develop in his ability to have relationships outside of himself. I think the description of this book is misleading as I didn't see that it was so much about the friendship between the 4 men as it was about Sandy and his growth. The others were minor support for Sandy during his growth. In my mind giving this book three stars is mostly because it was not the story I was expecting from the description and that disappointed me.
September 27, 2014
It took me a while to get into this book. There are quite a few characters to track, but once you've remembered and have the relationships sorted, it unravels into a brilliant story that holds drama, suspense, action, romance, adventure and comedy. It's a great character play that is engrossing and satisfying. It tells the story of four men,who have been friends for life, their partners and the challenges of change in their lives. The cover synopsis makes it sound like an everyday romance, but I found it much more complex and satisfying than I thought. Nicely written, with engaging prose and a pace that keeps you interested.
July 27, 2014
I loved this novel. It is the perfect fusion of beautiful and closely-imagined writing, of real characters whose flaws and heartaches make them believable and sympathetic, and an intricately-woven story that keeps the pages turning. I especially liked the sequences set in India, which were so visceral that I felt that I was there. I can't wait to read Suellen Dainty's next novel; she is an author to watch.
August 12, 2014
The story - a coming of age for the 50+ crowd, is written with maturity and depth. The characters are what you might expect if someone did a 50+ Friends series after they grew up, became more rounded, experienced life, and death - the characters are mostly appealing, flawed, sometimes funny, sometimes hurt, and sometimes victorious. Affected by friendships, broken relationships, and secrets.
The settings - in England, France and India are vivid, and lovely. A book well worth picking up.
The settings - in England, France and India are vivid, and lovely. A book well worth picking up.
March 24, 2015
This book is well written. You really get involved in the characters, their motivations and choices they have made that led them where they are. This book is not one to necessarily leave you with warm fuzzy feelings. What you are left with is more a jarring glimpse of how little you could actually know about the people around you. I enjoyed reading this book and getting a glimpse of these very real characters.
January 29, 2015
I won this in a First Reads, Goodreads giveaway. I want to thank them and the publishers or providing me a copy of this book.
This premise sounded interesting and I was excited to read this. The characters having their own POV was interesting and I liked that a lot. It gave a lot more depth. That being said, the story just didn't grab me and keep a hold of me. I struggled to finish this book. So overall, it was just an okay book for me.
This premise sounded interesting and I was excited to read this. The characters having their own POV was interesting and I liked that a lot. It gave a lot more depth. That being said, the story just didn't grab me and keep a hold of me. I struggled to finish this book. So overall, it was just an okay book for me.
May 20, 2014
I so enjoyed this book. Poised and elegant; amusing and profound, it drew me in from the very first page. For all their faults, it's impossible not to identify with the characters as they come to terms with the crossroads that is middle-age. For me, their stories were so involving and affecting that by the time the novel came to the end it was like parting with a very good friend.
November 19, 2014
Based around a group of 4 men approaching 60 (and their families) who have been friends since Uni and where they are up to in life and love. Doesn't sound riveting but a good read with great characters and a continual undercurrent that keeps you wondering what is behind some of their actions and emotions.
May 11, 2014
This book has everything - suspense, romance, bromance, sexual healing, mystery and imagination.I truly admire how the author sustains the plot and characterisation with vivid imagery and fluent word flow.'After Everything' is better than well written. It is good literature.
Anthony O'Grady
Anthony O'Grady
May 24, 2014
Refreshing to read an engaging book about the relationships between men of a certain age.
April 29, 2015
I never did get drawn into the story. The last 75 pages I was skimming just to be done!
May 26, 2015
ARC received. Good first novel. 3.5 stars. Would read another by this writer. Thank you for the hand-written card, Suellen.
November 17, 2014
I thought the book was okay in the beginning. Took a while to get into. I struggled to keep up with all of the characters every once in a while, but the ending was very good.
February 3, 2015
An intriguing look at like in our 50's.
March 27, 2017
A group of men friends meet each year for lunch, they follow different paths after leaving school and two are hiding a secret. Characters are not particularly likeable but the plot kept me reading. A holiday read.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews