num_pages: 320
description: When she is nine-years-old, Louise Kirk's mother disappears, leaving a note that reads only--and incorrectly--"Louise knows how to work the washing machine." It is not long before a strange couple and their adopted son, Abel, move in across the street. Louise quickly grows close with the exotic Mrs. Richter, but saves her stronger, more lasting affections for Mrs. Richter's intelligent son. From this childhood friendship evolves a love that will bind Louise and Abel forever, and though Abel moves away and Louise matures into adulthood, her attachment grows dangerously, fiercely fixed.
language: English
title: The Romantic
titlecomplete: The Romantic
genres: Fiction, Romantic, Coming Of Age, Canadian Literature, Canada, Romance, Novels, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Love
ratings_count: 1596
awards: awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: Booker Prize
category: Longlist, awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
publisher: Picador