Bug Hollow: A gorgeous story of a complicated, loving family for fans of Ann Patchett and Anne Tyler

Michelle Huneven

Jun 2025 · Hachette UK

Ebook

288

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Eligible

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About this ebook

'Feels like watching a master painter at work' Ann Napolitano
'Wonderful. A moving portrait of an imperfect family' Jennie Godfrey
'I adored it' Claire Lombardo
'A gorgeous, sprawling family saga' Literary Hub
Summer, California, 1970s. Sally Samuelson is eight years old, and the course of her family's life is about to change.
When Ellis, her older brother, tragically fails to return from a week up the coast, the world of the Samuelsons never spins on the same axis again. Especially when Julia, Ellis's girlfriend, shows up pregnant on their doorstep.

And over the next four decades, the family fractures and rebuilds again and again - in a story that takes in grief, love affairs, illnesses, late-in-life marriages and long-hidden secrets, to show one complicated but loving family trying to make sense of the world.

'Crackles with compassion . . . I inhaled this book in a weekend, regretting only that it would ever end' Leslie Jamison
'Like a narrative love child of Alice Munro's stories and Elizabeth Strout's novels' New York Times Book Review
'Huneven is a literary sister to Ann Patchett, Anne Tyler and Tessa Hadley' Raffaella Barker
'I couldn't stop reading this story of a beautiful, broken and quirky family who feel utterly real' Ericka Waller

Readers love Bug Hollow . . .
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This book broke my heart and put it back together'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A beautiful portrait of a complicated, ordinary, and extraordinary family'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'May be one of my favourite books of all time'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'The perfect nostalgic summer book'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'So real and heartwarming. I loved every character, flaws and all'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Best book I read this year!'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This novel just wedged its way into my heart and soul'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'If you're a fan of Anne Tyler and Elizabeth Strout, you will love this'

'Feels like watching a master painter at work' Ann Napolitano 'Wonderful. A moving portrait of an imperfect family' Jennie Godfrey 'I adored it' Claire Lombardo 'A gorgeous, sprawling family saga' Literary Hub Summer, California, 1970s. Sally Samuelson is eight years old, and the course of her fa...

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About the author

Michelle Huneven is the author of five novels including Bug Hollow. Her books have been New York Times Notable Books and finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is the recipient of a Whiting Award for Fiction, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a James Beard Award for feature writing with recipes, and received her master's in fine arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She teaches writing at University of California, Los Angeles.

Michelle Huneven is the author of five novels including Bug Hollow. Her books have been New York Times Notable Books and finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is the recipient of a Whiting Award for Fiction, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a J...

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