Other editions of book Scissors, Paper, Stone

A frank and beautiful story of damage, survival and restoration from an exhilarating literary voice. As Charles Redfern lies motionless in hospital, his wife, Anne, and daughter, Charlotte, are forced to confront their relationships with him - and with each other. Anne, once beautiful and clever, has paled in the shadow of her husband's dominance. Charlotte, meanwhile, is battling with her own inner darkness and is desperate to prevent her relationship with her not-yet-divorced lover from disintegrating. As the full truth of Charles' hold over them is brought to light, both women must reconcile themselves with the choices they have made, the secrets they have kept and the uncertain future that now lies ahead of them.

A frank and beautiful story of damage, survival and restoration from an exhilarating literary voice.As Charles Redfern lies motionless in hospital, his wife Anne and daughter Charlotte are forced to confront their relationships with him – and with each other. Anne, once beautiful and clever, has paled in the shadow of her husband's dominance. Charlotte, meanwhile, is battling with her own inner darkness and is desperate to prevent her relationship with her not-yet-divorced lover from disintegrating.As the full truth of Charles's hold over them is brought to light, both women must reconcile themselves with the choices they have made, the secrets they have kept, and the uncertain future that now lies ahead of them.

As Charles Redfern lies motionless in hospital, his wife, Anne, and daughter, Charlotte, are forced to confront their relationships with him - and with each other. Anne, once beautiful and clever, has paled beside her husband's harsh brilliance. She mechanically attends endless rounds of drinks parties, trying to ignore the guilt that trails behind her like a shadow. Charlotte, battling with an inner darkness, is desperate to prevent her relationship with not-yet-divorced Gabriel from disintegrating. Both women must face the full truth of Charles's hold over them, and the uncertainty of a future without the figure that has dominated them for so long.