On a Quiet Street

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of domestic abuse.

On a Quiet Street is a novel in the domestic psychological thriller genre. Domestic fiction includes fictional stories that are set in and deal with the concerns of a household or a collection of households. The plot and conflicts largely take place within the home setting between members of a family and others in their circle. Traditionally, works in this genre focus on the female characters and their experiences. This genre is sometimes referred to as “women’s fiction,” both because of its subject matter and its typical readership, although this designation can reductively suggest that a woman’s role is in the home rather than in the outside world. On a Quiet Street conforms to the traditions of domestic fiction in that it focuses on the experiences of the three female protagonists, Paige, Cora, and Nicola, their husbands and children, and the interactions between their households. Typical examples of domestic fiction include Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (2014) and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (2017).