The Sisters

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE SUMMER BY THE TIMES,NEW YORK TIMES, VULTURE, BOSTON GLOBE, AND BBC

'A triumph'
Irish Times

'One of the best novels I've ever read about the complexities of mixed heritage'
New Yorker

'I really loved this book . . . a novel to sink into'
New York Times

'One of the most enjoyable books I've read so far in 2025 . . . a page turner'
The Gloss

'Superb . . . one of those books you live inside and miss when it's over'
Isabella Hammad, author of Enter Ghost

'A moving appraisal of family, language, and the spiritual developments that accrue over a life'
Raven Leilani, author of Luster

'A thoroughly fascinating story about sibling rivalry, loyalty, and love'
Fredrik Backman, author of A Man Called Ove

'If you welcome this novel into your mind, it will warm and transform you'
Tess Gunty, author of the Rabbit Hutch

'Astonishing . . . every character - every sentence - is startlingly, indubitably alive'
Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies

'His masterpiece . . . life overflows its pages'
Madeleine Thien, author of Do Not Say We Have Nothing

MEET THE MIKKOLA SISTERS: INA, EVELYN, AND ANASTASIA.
Their mother is a Tunisian saleswoman, their father a mysterious Swede who left them when they were young. Ina is tall, serious, a compulsive organizer. Evelyn is dreamy, magnetic, a smooth talker. And Anastasia is moody, chaotic, quick to anger.

Ina meets her future husband when she's dragged to a New Year's party by her sisters, only to suffer the ultimate betrayal. Evelyn drifts through life before embarking on a wild career as an actress. And Anastasia runs off to Tunisia, where she falls in love with a woman who, years later, will transform her life.

Following them from afar is Jonas, the son of a Swedish mother and a Tunisian father. His life intersects with the sisters across decades and continents, from Stockholm to Tunis and New York. When Evelyn disappears, it's Jonas who tracks her down - and helps her to break a curse that has been looming over the Mikkolas for years. But in the process, a shocking revelation changes everything.

Narrated in six parts, each spanning a period ranging from a year to a day to a single minute, The Sisters is avivid, epic family saga of the highest order - an addictively entertaining tour de force.