From the acclaimed author of Corellirsquos Mandolin here is a sumptuous sweeping powerfully moving new novel about a British family whose lives and loves are indelibly shaped by the horrors of World War I and the hopes for its aftermath In the brief golden years of the Edwardian era the McCosh sistersmdashChristabel Ottilie Rosie and Sophiemdashgrow up in an idyllic household in the countryside south of London On one side their neighbors are the proper Pendennis family recently arrived from Baltimore whose close-in-age boysmdashSidney Albert and Ashbridgemdashshake their fatherrsquos hand at breakfast and address him as ldquosirrdquo On the other side is the Pitt family a ldquoresolutely Frenchrdquo mother a former navy captain father and two brothers Archie and Daniel who are clearly ldquogoing to grow up into a pair of daredevils and adventurersrdquo In childhood this band is inseparable but the days of careless camaraderie are brought to an abrupt halt by the outbreak of The Great War in which everyone will play a part All three Pendennis brothers fight in the hellish trenches at the front Daniel Pitt becomes an ace fighter pilot with his daredevil tendencies intact Rosie and Ottilie McCosh volunteer in the hospitals where women serve with as much passion and nearly as much hardship as the men at the front Christabel McCosh becomes one of the squad of photographers sending ldquosnapsrdquo of their loved ones at home to the soldiers and Sophie McCosh drives for the RAF in France In the aftermath of the war as ldquothe universal joy and relief were beginning to be tempered by an atmosphere of uncertaintyrdquo everyone must contend with the modern world that is slowly emerging from the ashes of the old A wholly immersive novel about a particular time and place The Dust That Falls from Dreams also illuminates the timeless ways in which men and women carry profound loss alongside indelible hope.
