The Family Tree

A hilariously funny and moving chronical of three generations of the Monroe family told through the eyes of Rebecca in the 1970s. It is not just a habit of quoting proverbs and a recipe for sherry trifle that have passed down the maternal line. There's a habit of broken marriages, dubiously fathered children and untimely deaths.

Elite

'A rare treat, delivered with aplomb'

Sunday Telegraph

'A real delight to read...such a delicacy of touch...very funny...hugely enjoyable'

Margaret Forster

'An incisive tale of real feeling'

Guardian

'Be careful of this book ... it's reading-on-the-escalator stuff'

Time Out

Cadwalladr also captures the desperation at the heart of most good comedy. She maintains the tragicomic balance to the end and has the confidence to chose the right, realistic ending over the wrong, romantic one

The Observer/Review

'Carole Cadwalladr's clever and moving debut examines three generations of the Monroe family and explores nature versus nurture...Thoughtful and immensely entertaining'

Observer

'Deft, poignant yet savage ... Cadwalladr has real talent'

Independent on Sunday

From debates over the mysteries of genetics to footnotes on popular culture, Cadwalladr wears her intelligence so lightly, and with a tone so natural, it's hard to believe this is her first novel

Arts Telegraph

'Half delicious romp, half calamitous chronicle of family breakdown... Every twig on this family tree quivers with life'

Sunday Times

Hats off to Carole Cadwalladr. Such a pleasure to read. Unpretentious and serious, funny and moving. A rare find

Monica Ali, Monica Ali

Hilariously funny and moving chronicle of three generations

Peterborough Evening News

'I'd have been proud to have written this book as it manages loads of things most writers want to achieve - a clever, funny, sad story with a big heart and an even bigger brain' Jenny Eclair

Jenny Eclair, Glasgow Herald

'Intelligent themes deftly delivered; bound to be a hit'

Elle magazine

Rebecca Monroe is really stumped when it comes to her family's behaviour. Why, on the day Charles and Camilla got married, did her mum lock herself in the loo and refuse to come out? Was it due to the collapse of her chocolate cake, or because Rebecca's grandmother ended up marrying her first cousin? Pondering what it is that makes her clan click, Rebecca is determined to discover whether it is genes or fate that affects the different generations. A fun little romp about the joys of family and the genes we inherit.

OK Met Stars

This exciting first novel by a talented writer is a moving exploration of family life in the twenty-first century...You won't want to put this book down

My Weekly

'This is a sublimely funny and clever first novel, and I predict that it won't be long before the extremely talented Carold Cadwalladr is required reading'

Daily Mail

Touching and surprising...A moving account of the personal and social pressures that shape our childhood experiences and resonate throughout out lives

The Sunday Times

'Very funny - and clever'

Daily Mirror