Alice Raikes takes a train from London to Scotland to visit her family, but when she gets there she witnesses something so shocking that she insists on returning to London immediately. A few hours later, Alice is lying in a coma after an accident that may or may not have been a suicide attempt. Alice's family gathers at her bedside and as they wait, argue, and remember, long-buried tensions emerge. The more they talk, the more they seem to conceal. Alice, meanwhile, slides between varying levels of consciousness, recalling her past and a love affair that recently ended. A riveting story that skips through time and interweaves multiple points of view, After You'd Gone is a novel of stunning psychological depth, marking the debut of a major literary talent.
"After You'd Gone is a memorable first novel." --The Seattle Times
"Utterly beautiful ... poetic and wise ... a lovely and fully realized performance." --The Boston Globe
"O'Farrell has written a deeply elusive book, one made more mysterious, somehow, by her wonderful sense of detail." --Los Angeles Times
"While skillfully employing interwoven multiple points of view ... O'Farrell performs a traditional, old-fashioned storytelling striptease, seductively unveiling layer after layer of revelatory secrets."
--The New York Times Book Review
"Beautifully written contemporary fiction." --The Sunday Times