I'm Sorry You Feel That Way

Childhood can be different and very often not happy, but for the sisters Alice and Hanna it became a real ordeal. One is overly anxious and strives to control everything; the other is carefree and explosive, constantly challenging the people around them. Their older brother Michael is a true role model—his disapproval is the force that they must take into account. The girls have always felt misunderstood and unnecessary. An authoritarian mother and a distant father shaped their upbringing, leaving many scars on their hearts. And finally, there is a family tragedy that is never mentioned—but it has affected every member of the family.

As adults, Alice and Hanna try to free themselves from the past, but each new stage of life only makes their problems worse. Disappointments in love and work lead them to realize: nothing will change until they figure out the family secrets and old resentments.

A smart and ironic, sometimes harsh, yet unbelievably honest novel about love and disappointment, closeness and loneliness. A story about a family that remains an important source for each of us despite all difficulties. The past cannot be erased, and sooner or later it catches up with us—in the words we didn’t say, in the deeds we didn’t forgive, in the pain that never managed to fade. The British elegance and irony of Rebecca Wait’s style lets us look at familiar conflicts from another, unexpected side.

The audiobook version of this novel, written with unusual clarity and wit, is narrated by actress Maria Orlova from the theater “Modern.”