Sipsworth

Sipsworth belongs to the fiction genre characterized by the “found family” trope. In novels of this type, a character who has been lonely or isolated experiences a transformative change. This change, whether external or internal, catalyzes the character to form meaningful connections with others. Over time, these connections develop into a community of friends who come to embody the love, trust, and support typically associated with family. This trope has its roots in classic literature, with George Eliot’s Silas Marner (1861) standing out as a foundational example. In Eliot’s novel, Silas, an isolated and heartbroken man, finds a sense of belonging in his rural community after he adopts an orphaned child.

Sipsworth falls within a more specific subset of the found family trope: novels in which the protagonist who “finds” their family is a senior citizen. One of the best-known novels within this subgenre is Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove. First published in English in 2014, the novel centers on a lonely, curmudgeonly older man who is on the brink of suicide when his life is upended by the arrival of a lively young family in his neighborhood. The story captures Ove’s gradual shift from isolation to connection, resonating with readers through its exploration of aging, loneliness, and the rediscovery of purpose later in life. The novel was a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into the 2022 film A Man Called Otto, starring Tom Hanks. 

In a similar vein, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto, published in 2023, is about a lonely, elderly shopkeeper whose life takes an unexpected turn when she finds herself solving a murder mystery. In the process, she forms close connections with an eclectic group of individuals whom she comes to see as her new family. 

These novels—including Sipsworth—are united by a shared narrative arc in which characters come together by chance but discover they have similar interests or qualities that help them bond. They also share the theme that the families people choose for themselves can mean as much or more than those formed through blood ties.