A Family Affair

1982. Dawn is a young mother just getting used to married life when Hazel suddenly enters it, and Dawn's heart ignites like a torch. The attraction between them is undeniable, and life is suddenly more complicated and yet more joyful than Dawn could ever have imagined. She finds herself caught between the grindstones of motherly love, social prejudice, and the need to be who she truly is.
2022. Heron, an old man trapped in the unchanging, silent tracks of his own life, returns from the doctor with news that turns his world upside down. Telling his only daughter, Maggie – the person his entire world has always revolved around – seems impossible. Heron cannot bring himself to tell her his diagnosis, let alone reveal all the other secrets he has hidden from her for so many years.
A Family Affair is a story about love and loss, intimacy and injustice, a custody battle and parental rights, and whether it is possible to heal the wounds of the past in today's world. In 2026, the novel won the Nero Gold Prize for best debut and also won in the book of the year category.
Translated by Alžběta Komrsková