Alan Querry, a successful property developer from the north of Engl&, has two daughters: Vanessa, a philosopher who lives & teaches in Saratoga Springs, NY, & Helen, a record company executive based in London. The sisters never quite recovered from their parents` bitter divorce & the early death of their mother, with Vanessa particularly affected, & plagued by bouts of depression since her teenage years. When she suffers a new crisis, Alan & Helen travel to Saratoga Springs. Over the course of six wintry days in upstate New York, the Querry family begins to struggle with the questions that animate this profound & searching novel: Why do some people find living so much harder than others? Is happiness a skill that can be learned, or a lucky accident of birth? Is reflection helpful to happiness or an obstacle to it? If, as a favourite philosopher of Vanessa`s puts it, `the only serious enterprise is living`, how should we live? Rich in subtle human insight, full of poignant & often funny portraits, & vivid with a sense of place, Upstate is a perceptive, intensely moving novel.