*ONE OF THE TIMES BEST FICTION BOOKS OF 2022* The glorious Sunday Times bestseller from one of our greatest storytellers. French Braid follows one family's joys and heartbreaks, mistakes and secrets, from the 1950s right up to today. When Mercy Garrett moves herself out of the family home, everyone determines not to notice. All she wants is space and silence. No clutter. Not even their cat, Desmond. But it turns out family life is impossible to escape - particularly when it's in your past. For Mercy it all begins in 1959, with a holiday to a cabin by a lake.