The Accidental Favorite

When the Fisher family gathers for matriarch Vivienne’s 70th birthday at a house in the English countryside, they expect an elegant and civil celebration. What they get, however, is a near-accident, one in which the family’s harmonious facade is shattered when Vivienne’s husband, Patrick, shows favoritism for one of his daughters over the others. Worst yet, all the Fishers see it happen. Told from alternating perspectives of the adult Fisher sisters (Alex, Nancy, and Eva) and their mother and spanning 1976 to the present, the novel shows the family reckoning with tensions that have been simmering for years. Alex, Nancy, and Eva, along with their parents and a motley crew of their significant others and children, must at least appear to have a harmonious holiday week. As childhood rivalries resurface and decades of slights, comparisons, and unspoken grievances come spilling out, each sister must come to terms with her place in the family and the stories they’ve told themselves about love, fairness, and belonging.