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Rachel Joyce

The Homemade God: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Rachel Joyce (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

911 ratings

3.9 on Goodreads

1,836 ratings

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With sparkling wit and insight, this powerful novel from the bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry reminds us that family is everything, even when it falls apart.

“The beautiful writing, unforgettable characters, and stunning setting make this a must-read.” —Bonnie Garmus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

“It’s all here, dear readers. Art. Beauty. Pain. Redemption. Rachel Joyce’s masterful skill and emotional breadth are dazzling.” —Adriana Trigiani, author of The Good Left Undone

There is a heatwave across Europe, and four siblings have gathered at their family’s lake house to seek answers about their father, a famous artist, who recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his long-awaited masterpiece.

Now he is dead. And there is no sign of his final painting.

As the siblings try to piece together what happened, they spend the summer in a state of lawlessness: living under the same roof for the first time in decades, forced to confront the buried wounds they incurred as his children, and waiting for answers. Though they have always been close, the things they learn that summer—about themselves—and their father—will drive them apart before they can truly understand his legacy. Meanwhile, their stepmother’s enigmatic presence looms over the house. Is she the force that will finally destroy the family for good?

Wonderfully atmospheric, at heart this is a novel about the bonds of siblinghood—what happens when they splinter, and what it might take to reconnect them.

Print length

318 pages
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English
Publisher

Doubleday Canada
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Publication date

July 8 2025
File size

4.9 MB
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Product description

About the Author

RACHEL JOYCE is the award-winning author of the New York Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, The Music Shop, Miss Benson’s Beetle, and Maureen, as well as a collection of interlinked short stories, A Snow Garden & Other Stories. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Booker Prize; a critically acclaimed film adaptation, for which Joyce also wrote the screenplay, was released in 2023. She was awarded the Specsavers New Writer of the Year National Book Award in 2012 and was on the shortlist for the UK Author of the Year in 2014. Miss Benson's Beetle won the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize in 2021 and Joyce was awarded an honorary doctorate by Kingston University in 2024. Rachel Joyce lives with her family in Gloucestershire, England. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"There's a new heft and grandeur, not only in the sophisticated characters and the fancy Italian real estate, but in the hidden darkness that can exist in a family. . . . Rachel Joyce is firing on all cylinders with The Homemade God and I can't think of a better holiday read." —The Times

"Joyce employs her considerable emotional acuity and deft characterisation to portray the complexities of sibling relationships and the burden of patriarchal dominance in a masterly and deeply satisfying exploration of art, grief and familial bonds." —The Observer

"Heartbreak and hopefulness marry in this warm, emotionally astute tale set in Italy." —The Daily Mail

"A thoroughly engaging examination of familial truths that define and endanger the precious, ever-precarious sibling bond. The beautiful writing, unforgettable characters and stunning setting make this a must-read." —Bonnie Garmus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

"The mysterious death of an artist causes havoc among siblings in a novel that astutely observes family dynamics . . . Joyce is also exceptionally good at blending the big stuff of life with the small . . . a sharp, absorbing and emotionally intelligent novel." —The Guardian

"Rachel Joyce has become known as an author of quiet, often older, lives. In The Homemade God, she changes track—and it works." —Robbie Millen, Sunday Times

"A beautifully written family drama. . . . A special book." —Good Housekeeping

"The Homemade God shares the characteristic generosity of Joyce’s seven previous novels but there’s something darker at play." —Harper’s Bazaar

"Emotionally potent . . . Joyce reveals the toll of unresolved conflicts, the danger of taking family bonds for granted and the power of art to assuage grief and longing." —B�Ǵǰ��

"Readers will get caught up in what Joyce’s characters have to contend with, particularly a larger-than-life parent who affected, even damaged, their lives and careers into adulthood. Joyce is skilled at creating fragile, complex characters." —Library Journal

"The glamorous art world, juicy family discord, an Italian villa, potential murder—it’s hard to ask more from a summer read." —Kirkus Reviews

"Rachel Joyce is a genius at creating complex, real, fractured characters and relationships. I didn’t just read about the four Kemp siblings, I became one of them, and I’m bereft now I’ve left them behind. The Homemade God is the most moving, beautiful and brilliant book I’ve read in a long time" —Claire Pooley, author of How to Age Disgracefully

"I fell heart-first into this vivid, moving story of siblings undone by their father's death. The mystery is compelling, yes, but it's Joyce's assured, gorgeous storytelling that captured me—her wit, her wisdom, and her rendering of place, time, and crisis so vividly revealed through these indelible characters. Rachel Joyce can count me as a fan." —Therese Anne Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of A Good Neighborhood

"Sparkling and addictive . . . Rachel Joyce is so incredibly good and wise on families and siblings, pacing out a story’s secrets so that you have to read one more page. (It’s My Cousin Rachel meets The Enchanted April.) I couldn’t love it more." —Harriet Evans, author of The Stargazers and The Garden of Lost and Found

"Full of suspense and intrigue, this unputdownable novel is a gear change."—The Bookseller

"Compulsive and darkly funny, Joyce’s books are a must-read for me and this did not disappoint." —Sarra Manning, for Red Magazine

"Woman's Weekly LOVES The Homemade God: As the simple story of a family falling apart unfolds, written in Joyce’s inimitable style, we ask whether some wounds are just too deep to heal." —Woman's Weekly

"The Homemade God is an enthralling, thought-provoking, layered novel, seamed with a delicious dark humour. And, as in all the best redemptive stories, through the rubble of grief glimmers hope, acceptance and love. Truly wonderful." —Sarah Winman, author of Still Life

"Lyrical, shrewd and, ultimately, as indecently satisfying as a four course Italian lunch, The Homemade God tells of four siblings surviving an artist father none can admit is a talentless monster and how the fallout of his death obliges each to shatter and rebuild their life. My life is a little emptier now it’s over." —Patrick Gale, author of A Place Called Winter

"A new novel by Rachel Joyce is always a cause for celebration and this was no exception. . . . Another triumph of insight and empathy." —Clare Chambers, author of Learning to Swim

"The Homemade God is a beautiful portrayal of family, art and the things we inherit from our parents, both creative and emotional. Joyce writes with great emotional acuity about the complexity of sibling relationships in a richly woven family drama, with all Joyce’s trademark compassion and insight. It’s a wonderful piece of storytelling." —Hannah Beckerman, author of The Forgetting

"Rachel Joyce’s latest novel is an absolute humdinger. Gripping, atmospheric, psychologically rich storytelling that gets to the absolute heart of parent love and loss. It’s also very funny. I haven’t been able to put it down." —Emily Howes, author of The Painter’s Daughters

"A powerful and complex novel, subtly weaving together themes around grief, creativity and the strange loving violence of sibling relationships. . . . I loved it." —Clover Stroud, author of The Giant on the Skyline

"The Homemade God has brilliantly drawn characters that yank you in, an incredibly atmospheric setting and the most gripping plot the author has ever written. It’s also a thought-provoking exploration of the nature and purpose of art and probably the wisest and most insightful study of sibling rivalry I’ve ever read. In short, it’s a masterpiece!" —Matt Cain, author of The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle

"Rachel Joyce is a treasure. Her novels are at once gentle and sharp-witted, closely observed and grand. . . . With humor and compassion, Joyce paints a complex portrait of a family with all of its baggage, eccentricities, charm and heartbreak. It’s about the universal longing to express our artistic selves, to be loved and accepted. A beautiful novel." —Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child and Black Woods Blue Sky

"As ever with a Rachel Joyce novel, you almost forget you’re reading fiction, so convinced are you by the subtle yet sharp characterization, and in the case of The Homemade God, the thousand tiny cuts that pass between people who love each other boundlessly yet hold decades-old grudges as only siblings can. The Handmade God does everything you want a novel to do." —Sarah Leipciger, author of Moon Road

"The Homemade God makes you identify with every family member, in their loves, struggles and pain, just as their author-creator shows her own beautiful heart and joyful talent. What a grown-up delight." —Laline Paull, author of Pod

"This insightful, witty, moving, suspenseful novel conjures Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited and the four lost Flyte siblings in thrall to their insidiously tyrannical parents. A triumph of imagination, The Homemade God gallops to the end, with a late chapter that brilliantly upends everything that came before. Rachel Joyce has a kaleidoscopic gift; at the slightest touch, the whole picture shifts. A rich and rewarding reaching experience in every way." —Susan Rieger, author of Like Mother, Like Mother

"Rachel Joyce's The Homemade God is an exquisite and beautifully written exposé of a family torn apart by tragedy and almost destroyed by love. Her evocative and visceral description of the strange and alluring Italian island on Lake Orta made me feel like I was eavesdropping on her complex but endearing characters as their world falls apart. It made me laugh, it made me cry and I couldn’t put it down. If you are a fan of Maggie O’Farrell you must read this." —Louise Minchin, TV presenter and author of Isolation Island

"The Homemade God has all the flexed, pacey tautness of a thriller, even though at its heart it’s a quiet story about grief. I don’t understand how Rachel Joyce does it—writes about art and Italy and siblings hurting each other’s feelings, all while maintaining this steady, alarming thrum of dread. She’s a wonder." —Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich

"It's all here, dear readers. Art. Beauty. Pain. Redemption. . . . Rachel Joyce's masterful skill and emotional scope is dazzling. Brava!" —Adriana Trigiani, author of The Good Left Undone

"Who would have thought a book about four neurotic siblings and their impossible father could be so engaging, intriguing and satisfying?" —Prue Leith

"The renowned artist—the emotionally starved children—what an inspired subject! Joyce writes with her trademark vitality and compassion and there is such colour here. So much at stake. I couldn’t put it down." —Esther Freud, author of Mr Mac and Me, Hideous Kinky and My Sister and Other Lovers

"Joyce shows us that the familial love force, like mad faith, can be so strong that even a fractured family can be sewn back together in the new world they must inhabit, having been turned upside down several times over. We all think our family is the one wracked with ruin; Joyce has rendered her relatable characters with such fondness you cannot help but hold space for them all–even the flawed ones." —DéLana R.A. Dameron, author of Redwood Court --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1

Old Rogue

The first Netta heard about her was in a noodle bar on Greek Street. The Singing Wok was one of those new places in a basement that were opening all over Soho. You brought your own drink, and tables were long communal trestles with benches instead of chairs. The noise banged against the walls and was mind-blowing.

It was lunchtime, mid-March. Netta was perched at the end of a crowded table, not a wineglass in sight, let alone a bottle, just tin cups, as if everyone was on a camping holiday. If she’d known about the whole Bring Your Own, she would have Brought Some. As it was, she had tap water. Not so much as a cube of ice. Susan was rammed in beside her, then Goose, while their youngest sister, Iris, sat on the opposite side with their father.

Vic never went to noodle bars. He liked old-fashioned restaurants with furry wallpaper and starched white cloths, where he ate enough steak and ice-cream sundae to cause any normal person a cardiovascular attack. After that, he drank until he fell over. At which point, Netta or Susan, Goose or Iris—whoever’s number he could pull into focus first—rescued him and got him home. It was a habit Netta was used to, reassuring in its way, if only because she knew where she stood. And as the eldest, she liked nothing more than knowing where she stood. As a child, she was always scrambling to the top of things for this exact reason, while the other three waited, admiring and grateful, below.

But here they were in a noodle bar. No alcohol. Vic using chopsticks—how had he learned to hold a chopstick?—while he drank a bowl of tea. When did he ever drink tea? He’d even brought his own Thermos. Then, just as Susan began a story about her stepsons, he banged the table and interrupted: “So, come on, kids. Who’s guessed my news?”

Netta had turned forty. Susan was chasing her tail at thirty-nine. There wasn’t a full year between them. Gustav, but they all called him Goose because as a boy he could never say his own name, was thirty-six, while Iris was seven years younger than Netta at thirty-three. Already they had lived more years than their mother. Yet Vic still called them kids and they called him Daddy.

He hit the table again. “Guess!” he said. “You’ll never guess!”

He was right. Netta hadn’t a clue. She shot a look at Susan, who shot one straight back: clearly she hadn’t got a clue either. At the end of the bench, Goose began spiraling his noodles, while Iris placed all the bits of spinach and peppers from her vegetarian option to the side because she had a thing about not eating food that was green or red. No one knew why. Least of all Iris.

“Okay,” said Netta. “I’ll take a guess. You’ve finished the new painting.”

“Nice try, Antoinetta. But you’re wrong. For once, you’re wrong. Goose? You guess.”

Goose bowed his head so that he was hidden by dark-yellow hair. “I don’t know. You know I don’t. You’re going to retire?”

“Retire? What would you do if I retired? You’d be on the streets. And when are you going to get a haircut? You look like a hippie. Before we know it, you’ll be wearing a skirt.”

“Please let’s not spoil this,” said Iris to her noodles, which were now immaculately separated from her green and red vegetables. “It’s so nice being together.”

Vic had summoned them by way of one of his infrequent group texts. He’d sent the address of the Singing Wok and told them to get there early, then wait in the queue. He had news, he said.

“So why does he want to tell us in a noodle bar?” Netta had rung Susan to ask. “Do you think he’s ill?”

Susan said she was worrying about the same thing, though why he would tell them bad news in a noodle bar she had no idea. Apparently she hadn’t seen him for a few weeks, despite the fact that she always did his food shopping and cleaned his flat, but she just assumed he was at the studio over in King’s Cross. After that, Netta got on the phone to Goose, then called Susan straight back, though it turned out Susan had done the exact same thing and also rung Goose, so mainly what they did was repeat what they already knew: namely that their father seemed not to have been at home but he’d barely crossed London to set foot in his studio either.

“Do you think he’s having some kind of crisis?” said Susan. “A loss of confidence or something? He did seem low before Christmas. Or maybe his health is bothering him and he’s too frightened to say. You know what he’s like about doctors.”

“I’ll check with Iris,” Netta said.

“Call me as soon as you’ve spoken,” said Susan.

But not even Iris had seen their father and she only lived around the corner from his flat. “No, he’s been too busy to meet up,” she said, when Netta finally got hold of her. Iris still insisted on using her ancient Nokia phone, which was frequently out of charge and had the keypad strapped on with an elastic band. It would be quicker to communicate via a man on a horse, although she’d want to feed the horse and look after it, less so the man. “He said there were things he had to do,” she told Netta. “I assumed it was the big new painting.”

So Netta had arrived at midday, just as he said. Vic wasn’t there, but that was no surprise. He wore a Rolex the size of a yo-yo but that didn’t mean he ever checked the time. Susan was already with Iris in the queue, while Goose searched for a railing to chain up Iris’s bike.

“You look well.”

“No, you look well,” they kept saying, like people who’d barely met, instead of siblings who rang each other all the time. It was only once Netta had got them a table downstairs, shared with a family of at least three generations, that their father finally arrived.

“I am late! I am late!” he roared, as if not only his children but the whole noodle bar had been on tenterhooks.

She couldn’t stop staring. Because, whatever his news, he’d lost weight. Netta couldn’t remember him so thin. Vic had always been good-looking—the shambles of his good looks only seemed to improve them, as if he were handsome by mistake—while years of too much drink and rich food had left him massive in every dimension. Now the skin hung from his neck in thick turkey folds and his face caved in beneath the cheekbones. But he didn’t seem worried. He certainly didn’t mention feeling ill, so she and Susan had been way off the mark about that. His white hair, always uncombed, was pulled into a ponytail, like a little fountain. His eyebrows that grew in every direction except sideways had been trimmed into neat arches. His face was clean and freshly shaved, except for a spiky thing on his chin that she realized, with a flicker of astonishment, was a goatee.

Even his clothes seemed to belong to a different man. On the whole, Vic walked a thin line between hung-over and actively drunk, and wore whatever item he happened to find on the end of his foot when he got up. But today he was in a smart collarless linen shirt she had never seen before, and a matching pair of white trousers. Not a spot of paint anywhere. He didn’t smell of turps, but something altogether sweeter, like pine cones dipped in lemon. All in all, he looked more like a friendly hygienist than an artist. He was even tucking a paper napkin under his chin.

“Iris, my darling. Can you not guess?”

“I’m sorry, Daddy. I can’t.”

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“No, Daddy. I’d have said the same as Netta. I’d have guessed you’ve finished the new painting, but I know you want to take your time with this one so I don’t even know why I said that. How’s it going, by the way? We’re all so excited.”

When Susan was flustered, red spear shapes flared up and down her neck. Their father blew her a kiss. “Dear Suzie,” he said. “One day you will mount my exhibition.”

“You know how much I’d love that, Daddy.”

“So are you going to tell us?” interrupted Netta, pricked by a distant jealousy, sharp as a pin. “Are you going to tell us your news or must we sit here making guesses all day?”

Vic had a temper, but she liked standing up to him and she knew he expected it. My second in command, he called her: she had been put into her mother’s shoes as a child, without ever becoming maternal. It was Susan who was the natural. “I’m getting married,” he said.

“I’m sorry, what?” said Netta. Somehow she had lost her place in the conversation.

“I’ve met the love of my life. Her name is Bella-Mae. And I’m going to marry her.”

There was a pause. A hiatus that felt like reaching the edge of a cliff and not daring to move a muscle in case you went careering over the top. Netta could sense the other three looking at her, waiting for her to show them what to do, but he had completely stumped her. Then suddenly the people none of them knew further along the table were laughing and holding up their tin tumblers, calling, “Congratulations!”

“My God,” said Netta. “Really?”

Then Susan said the same. “My God. Really?” --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DJQBNTVJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday Canada
Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 8 2025
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4.9 MB
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 318 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385675154
Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
�鶹�� Rank: #5,182 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #177 in Domestic Life in Women's Fiction
- #190 in Family Life
- #317 in Literary Fiction eBooks
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911 ratings

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Rachel Joyce

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Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, The Music Shop, the instant New York Times best seller Miss Benson's Beetle, Maureen Fry & the Angel of the North and a collection of interlinked short stories, A Snow Garden & Other Stories. Her latest novel The Homemade God will be published in April ’25 in UK, and June ’25 in US and Canada.

Rachel's books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold millions of copies world-wide. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The critically acclaimed film of the novel, for which Rachel wrote the screenplay, was released in 2023 starring Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton, and in 2025 the musical will open in Chichester Festival Theatre, for which Rachel also wrote the script. Miss Benson's Beetle won the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize 2021, Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards 'New Writer of the Year' in December 2012 and she was shortlisted for the 'UK Author of the Year' 2014. In 2024 she was given an honorary doctorate by Kingston University.

Rachel has written many original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4 and she is currently adapting Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen which will be aired later this year. You can follow her on Instagram at rachelcjoyce.

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Sharon
Captivating characters in a slow burn story
Reviewed in Canada on July 12, 2025

This beautifully written novel centers around the four adult children of Vic Kemp, who recently passed away after a brief marriage to a much younger woman. His sudden death raises suspicions, especially as the family navigates grief, inheritance, and old wounds that never quite healed.

The characters—Netta, Susan, Iris, and Goose—are all deeply flawed yet incredibly relatable. Their stories unfold with emotional honesty, and I found myself completely drawn into their world. The author does a remarkable job exploring family dynamics with depth and nuance.

I loved how the story embraced the messiness of real life—this family may be more dysfunctional than most, but their relationships felt authentic. It reminded me of novels by Ann Napolitano or Jean Hanff Korelitz, both in tone and character complexity.

If you enjoy character-driven fiction that explores the intricacies of family, grief, and identity, I highly recommend this book.

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ReadWalkRepeat
Wonderful exploration of family dynamics
Reviewed in Canada on July 8, 2025
I chose this book because of the beautiful cover and intriguing title and this story delivered 100%. Set primarily at the family’s lake-side vacation home in Italy, the author creates a beautiful backdrop to witness the implosion of this family as they try to come to terms with the death of their larger-than-life father.

It explores siblings bonds, co-dependency, dysfunctional relationships, narcissistic traits, addiction, mental health, and the lengths people will go to, to be seen, loved and adored.

Rich in character development, power dynamics, and human psychology, this book will have you wishing the characters would stop their destructive behaviours, while at the same time, deeply understanding their need to go on personal journeys of growth and healing.

Highly recommend

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jodom
Captivating read
Reviewed in Canada on July 8, 2025
The Homemade God is a rich and captivating read that draws you in from the first to the last page.

It is the story of the four Kemp siblings who reunite after the sudden death of their father.

Their father would never win Dad of the Year.

The family dynamics are complicated and their childhood memories are not the best and each sibling has their own take and memory of their childhood.

Underlying all this is the mystery of their Dad's suspicious death.

I was intrigued by it all and found it hard to put the book down.

Rachel Joyce writes beautifully and the atmosphere is so scenic I felt I was right there.

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Shelley's Book Nook
Not as good as her other books
Reviewed in Canada on July 8, 2025
I loved Rachel Joyce's Harold Fry Series (books one and two), so I jumped at the chance to read her newest release. This one takes us to Italy after four siblings lose their artist father; they travel there to help sort out his estate with his wife, who happens to be 50 years younger than him. Netta is the oldest and is a litigator, Susan is a stay-at-home wife, Goose is an artist like his dad (well, not like his dad as he is a failure) and is his dad's assistant, and Iris is a little daddy's girl and the youngest. Bella-Mae is the father's wife. She's 27, and he is 76. A mere 6 weeks after their wedding, he is dead, his will is missing, and so is the painting he was working on. the four siblings try and figure out what the heck is going on and who is this new wife really?

The Homemade God is a very slow-burn, character-driven story, and the premise was certainly a good one with the mysterious way too young window who can't find the will or the masterpiece her dead husband has painted. Rachel Joyce wrote the atmosphere very well, I could feel the tension, resentment and secrets. She also writes about Italy very descriptively, and it's a place that's always been on my bucket list. (The history, art, architecture, cuisine and fashion!)

I hated Vic so much. He is anything but a father. He is a great painter and has plenty of charm, but his kids have nothing but painful memories. He is Narcissistic, neglectful and selfish. I had a hard time believing in all the grief his kids were suffering from, or feeling sorry that he died. All four of the kids were wonderfully written, but the rest of them felt flat. And the plot is more of a did-she-do-it than a whodunit, and the pace was too slow. It was more psychological than mysterious and turned into a mess of confrontations that felt repetitive. Overall, this was just a mixed bag for me. It is a well-written story with some excellent insights into a family, but the slow pace and my hatred of some of the characters prevent me from rating it higher.

P.S. I love a good family drama and the toxic and complicated relationships that comprise a dysfunctional family. This one is about a Dad who was not a good man, and maybe it just hit too close to home for me, as my own not-a-good-man dad died not too long ago, and as much as I hated the step-mother Bella-Mae character, I hate my own (way too young) step-monster even more.

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Sylvia
Will not be my last book by this author!
Reviewed in Canada on July 9, 2025
This is my first Rachel Joyce book but it will not be my last. The characters were well-written and thoughtful and the storyline was compelling from beginning to end.

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Zoe (whatsbetterthanbooks)
Heartfelt, complex, and absorbing!
Reviewed in Canada on July 7, 2025
The Homemade God is a tender, hopeful, multi-generational story that delves into all the emotional bonds and intricate ties that exist between family members and immerses you into the lives of four siblings, Netta, Susan, Goose, and Iris, as they each grapple with all the secrets, wounds, trauma, tragedy, hurt, shame, guilt, tears, and discontent that surrounds them.

The prose is well-turned and fluid. The characters are flawed, troubled, and bitter. And the plot is a captivating tale about life, loss, heartache, grief, love, secrets, resentments, revelations, expectations, acceptance, disappointments, familial drama, sibling rivalry, friendship, hope, forgiveness, and introspection.

Overall, The Homemade God is a nuanced, uplifting, character-driven tale by Joyce that serves as a poignant reminder that family can be frustrating, messy, secretive, and sometimes hard to love, but they can also be surprisingly supportive, loyal, and the only true place that feels like home.

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Top reviews from other countries

Celia Ritchie
Still waters running deep and dark
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2025
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Another excellent story from Rachel Joyce about what would be considered a dysfunctional family. It starts from the childhood of the four siblings to the aftermath of the death of their artist father who brought them up and the resulting, almost destruction of their close relationship with each other. A very good read.

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LizL
Entertaining read on family dynamics
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 13, 2025
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3* story wise but I gave it an additional star for originality. Being 1 of 5 siblings myself, I enjoyed the reading about the family dynamics, with the shifting POV. I couldn't help but assign family members to each of the characters. It is pretty far fetched plot wise, but it did keep me entertained. There is a bit of a mystery involved, but it is really a book about family and the ways it can lift you up and hold you down. Somtimes both at the same time.

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Milly63
Brilliant read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2025
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Superb book - well written and thoughtful. Could not put it down

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J. M. Gunn
A bit predictable
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2025
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I started reading with enthusiasm, for it is well written. It's just the plot that let it down, i feel. It's all a bit drawn out and predictable. All the characters were a bit stereotypical and I didn't empathise with any of them. So I didn't really care what happened.

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Arlene
Perfect ~ What a brilliant story teller
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2025
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I have read all of her books ~ and felt the same each time the story ended. I am so awed to have an author that touches me so deeply. Thank you.

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