Two young women meet in Paris during an unforgettable summer in this novel about young love and missed opportunities.
Paris, 1978. Erica, newly out of school, experiences her first summer abroad before starting university in England. Laure, a PhD candidate at the Sorbonne, struggles with her personal life and has an affair with a married woman. From their first meeting on the steps of the Sacré-Coeur, a relationship develops that will fundamentally change their lives.
This love story follows Erica and Laure through decades of marriage, children, careers, and painful changes. With each reunion, the question arises of whether they are brave enough to continue their lives together, despite the missed opportunities that keep haunting them.
Almost a lifetime captures the complexity of young love and tells of the longing for untraveled paths and the choices that shape the future.
In the press
‘Hargrave is a master in intimate scenes. Conversations, sexual encounters and dinners come beautifully and very convincingly to life. Laure and Erica are richly developed, both in their hearts and in their minds.’ The New York Times
‘Tender, sensual and bursting with life.’ Lucy Steeds, author of The workshop
‘One of the strongest points of this novel is that both women are portrayed with extraordinary realism, with all their human flaws. A sensitive, sad, layered and moving contemplation of true love and passion.’ The Guardian
‘A heartbreaking story about missed opportunities. Millwood Hargrave is a wonderful writer, and it’s a delight to be in the company of such a skilled, spellbinding storyteller.’ Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain
‘A captivating, immersive reading experience about the extreme highs and lows of an all-consuming love.’ People Magazine
‘Reveals the beauty of a life truly lived, if only we are brave enough to seize it ourselves.’ Harper’s Bazaar
‘Emotional and addictive.’ Daily Mail
‘A beautifully written exploration of desire, freedom and the paths we do and don’t take.’ The Observer