Expectation

By: Anna Hope

Narrated by: Vinette Robinson

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Expectation by Anna Hope, read by Vinette Robinson.

Hannah, Cate and Lissa are young, vibrant and inseparable. Living on the edge of a common in East London, their shared world is ablaze with art and activism, romance and revelry – and the promise of everything to come. They are electric. They are the best of friends.

Ten years on, they are not where they hoped to be. Amidst flailing careers and faltering marriages, each hungers for what the others have. And each wrestles with the same question: what does it take to lead a meaningful life?

EXPECTATION is a novel of the highs and lows of friendship – how it can dip, dive and rise again. It is also about finding your way: as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a rebel. Most of all, it explores that liminal space between expectation and reality, the place – full of dreams, desires and pain – in which we all live our lives.

Critic reviews

Profoundly intelligent and humane. Deserves to feature on many a prize shortlist

A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition

One of the most intensely readable novels I've encountered this year

I loved it . . . 10 out of 10!

Will resonate with approximately 99 % of all women

Thoughtful, beautifully written, honest. A sensual book. I URGE YOU TO READ IT

Brilliant portrayal of long-term female friendships . . . I was gripped.

A Sally Rooney-esque evocative examination of female friendship

The real joy of this novel – while exploring just what second wave feminism has done for this generation of women (“you’ve had everything… we changed the world for you. For our daughters. And what have you done with it?”) – is in it’s writing; the dialogue and the honesty behind these characters who are doing their best, who are trying to live up to the fictional counterparts that they themselves have created… It’s the perfect summer reading

Absolutely encapsulates what it means to be a young woman today, and beyond

Female Relationships

Really enjoyed this book. I would love to know what happens to these women now it’s finished. The story had me grinning and crying in parts. A really honest story of female friendships and mother daughter complications but ultimately their love.