The Rest of Our Lives

'Moving, smart and, in the end, life-affirming, it's a wonderful novel about family, hope and the obligations that make us human.' Observer (Fiction to look out for in '25)



What's left when your kids grow up and leave home?





When Tom Layward's wife had an affair he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest daughter turned eighteen. Twelve years later, while driving her to Pittsburgh to start university, he remembers his pact.





He is also on the run from his own health issues, and the fact that he's been put on leave at work after students complained about the politics of his law class - something he hasn't yet told his wife.





So, after dropping Miriam off, he keeps driving, with the vague plan of visiting various people from his past - an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son - on route, maybe, to his father's grave in California.



What readers are saying about The Rest of Our Lives:



'What a powerful tale; a really unexpected treasure.'



'Highly recommended if you want to read something real and something that will resonate.'



'The best novel I've read this year. Highly recommended.'



'I absolutely loved it - the perfect mix of funny, poignant and thought-provoking.'



Benjamin Markovits grew up in Texas, London and Berlin. His novels include Either Side of Winter, You don't Have to Live Like This and, most recently, The Sidekick. He has published essays, stories, poetry and reviews in the Guardian, Granta, The Paris Review and The New York Times, among others. In 2013 Granta selected him as one of their Best of Young British Novelists and in 2015 he won the Eccles British Library Writer in Residence Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. He lives in London and teaches creative writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.



What's left when your kids grow up and leave home? An unforgettable road trip of a novel about ageing, and the challenges and rewards of long-term marriage.