Passing on
Worth buying if: You appreciate Penelope Lively's quiet domestic insight and character-driven prose.
Skip it if: You want fast-paced plot or thriller-level suspense rather than reflective domestic drama.
Exact edition: Edition shown · ISBN-13 9780140119329. The Amazon link uses this ISBN, so the product page should open to the edition shown here.
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Summary
In Passing On (2005), Penelope Lively explores grief, legacy, and the shifting meanings of a family home as relatives sort possessions and reckon with an elder's fading past in intimate, observant prose.
Why this book now
Lively's focus on memory, heirlooms, and family narratives feels timely for readers navigating eldercare, estate decisions, and intergenerational conversation.
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Best for readers who...
Good fit if you want...
- You appreciate Penelope Lively's quiet domestic insight and character-driven prose.
- You enjoy novels about family houses, heirlooms, and the ritual of sorting a lifetime.
- You want fast-paced plot or thriller-level suspense rather than reflective domestic drama.
- You prefer experimental structure instead of Lively's clear, realist narration about memory and legacy.
Decided it fits?
Exact edition: Edition shown · ISBN-13 9780140119329
Worth buying if: You appreciate Penelope Lively's quiet domestic insight and character-driven prose.
Skip it if: You want fast-paced plot or thriller-level suspense rather than reflective domestic drama.
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.
Reader guide
Cues to help you decide faster.
Reading commitment
Light Short sit-downs
At roughly 224 pages, Passing On is a moderate one- or two-sitting read focused on close attention to family dynamics rather than sprawling plot.
What stands out here
This Penguin edition foregrounds Lively's precise language and the novel's domestic details — objects, letters, and the lived texture of a family home.
Best way to approach it
Read slowly and attentively, letting Lively's understated details about possessions and memory accumulate into the novel's emotional shape.
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Other formats and editions
Same title and author, with each available binding identified.
Exact edition: ISBN-13 9780140119329
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.