Abbie Greaves’ stunning debut about a couple who haven’t spoken for six months, The Silent Treatment, is published in the US and Canada today (HarperCollins / William Morrow).
Published in the UK on 2nd April by Penguin Random House / Cornerstone, the novel received some incredible publicity in the run up to its UK publication, with Jojo Moyes calling it “a remarkable debut” and Louise Candlish praising Abbie on her “stylish and confident new voice”. Abbie herself was recently chosen as one of the Media Eye’s “Rising Stars“, and The Silent Treatment was chosen for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club with Jo Whiley from April to June 2020. The Silent Treatment will be featured on Monday, 20th April from 7 – 9pm.
A lifetime together.
Six months of silence.
One last chance.
By all appearances, Frank and Maggie share a happy, loving marriage. But for the past six months, they have not spoken. Not a sentence, not a single word. Maggie isn’t sure what, exactly, provoked Frank’s silence, though she has a few ideas.
Day after day, they have eaten meals together and slept in the same bed in an increasingly uncomfortable silence that has become, for Maggie, deafening.
Then Frank finds Maggie collapsed in the kitchen, unconscious, an empty package of sleeping pills on the table. Rushed to the hospital, she is placed in a medically induced coma while the doctors assess the damage.
If she regains consciousness, Maggie may never be the same. Though he is overwhelmed at the thought of losing his wife, will Frank be able to find his voice once again—and explain his withdrawal—or is it too late?
The Silent Treatment was featured in several 2020 round ups, including Stylist Magazine’s “Best new books of 2020 to look out for“, which said “this debut is getting a lot of chatter”, the Independent’s article on “Best Debut Novels“, where they commented: “Greaves’s insightful account of a long marriage kept us gripped till the very last page”, Her’s “Debut novels to keep an eye out for in 2020“, Woman & Home’s “16 Books You Need to Add to Your 2020 Reading List“, and Cosmopolitan’s “13 of the best new good books to read“. List said it was “Poignant, heart-breaking and insightful, it’s a skilled debut”, and it was given a score of 10/10 in the Nerd Daily review.
Pre-publication reviews have been brilliant:
“Greaves writes their distinct voices expressively and assuredly, making both characters come alive… A sometimes-hopeful, often heartbreaking look at the difficult and beautiful moments of parenting and marriage.” Kirkus Reviews
“With the sincerity and hope of Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage (2018) and the thoughtful, circumspect snapshots of marriage in Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies (2015), Greaves’ debut depicts the many joys and sorrows that make up a marriage.” Publishers Weekly
“The Silent Treatment itself is just heartrendingly lovely.” Josie Silver, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December
Abbie Greaves studied at Cambridge University before working in a literary agency for a number of years.
She was inspired to write her first novel, The Silent Treatment, after reading a newspaper article about a boy in Japan who had never seen his parents speak to one another before.
