Shortlisted for the 2008 Women's Prize for Fiction
In North London, Claudia Rubin is in her heyday. Wife, mother, rabbi – and sometimes moral voice of the nation – everyone wants to be with her at her son Leo’s glorious wedding. That is until Leo bolts and the gleaming bubble surrounding the Rubins threatens to burst.
Frances – Claudia’s calm, mature, married daughter – tries to hold the nucleus of the family together, but the stress forces her to re-examine her own life, leading her to make a decision as shocking as Leo’s.
And Claudia’s husband, Norman, has an uncharacteristic secret, the imminent unveiling of which he is powerless to stop…
When We Were Bad is a spellbinding, witty and poignant portrayal of a family in crisis, in love, and in denial.
