The extraordinary first novel from the author of THE OTHER HAND

You aren't stupid.
You know there's no such thing as a perfect mother.
Plenty of other books will tell you there is, but this one won't lie to you.

I was weak and I cheated and I was punished, but my god I loved my child through all of it.
Love means you never break, and it means you're stronger than the things they do to you. I know this is true because I have been through fire, and I am the proof that love survives.

I am not a perfect mother but I will tell you the perfect truth, because this is you and me talking.
This is my story.

"Stunning... a haunting work of art." - Newsweek

"Chris Cleave has the ability to create moving and beautiful scenes within a terrifying backdrop. I couldn't put it down; it's subversive, thought-provoking and well-written." - Observer, Books of the Year

"Richly sardonic and often disarmingly poignant... How can one fail to be impressed and moved?" - Guardian

"Cleave's heroine is by turns funny, sad, flawed, sympathetic, both damaged and indomitable, and triumphantly convincing." - Sunday Telegraph

"Stunning" - New York Times AND International Herald Tribune AND Bookmarks Magazine

"This is a compulsive read, sure to stir the dust" - CITY AM

"Searing.. poignant and compelling.. Utterly believable and mesmerizing" - Newsday

"Dark, tense and undeniably provocative" - Metro

"Hilariously sympathetic and convincing" - San Francisco Chronicle

"Mesmerizing" - Washington Post