From a rising literary star and multi-award-winning poet, comes a hilarious and sharp novel exploring the knotty complexities of one family's relationships

'A wonderfully stylish writer with an unwavering eye' JOHN PATRICK McHUGH
'Perfectly calibrated . . . These characters spike off the page' A. K. BLAKEMORE

How do you mourn someone you never really knew?

Three siblings – Anna, Gemma and Matthew – will have to work that out quickly. Monday is the day of their gentle, but distant, father’s funeral, and for the first time in a long while they are under one roof with their mother, imperious Yvonne, awaiting the arrival of their aunt Amy, an award-winning poet.

Yet, as the funeral looms, their everyday concerns refuse to diminish: will newly sex-obsessed Gemma work out what she wants from life, beyond her mother’s expectations? Can Anna maintain the fine balance between desire and nonchalance with her not-quite-exclusive boyfriend back in London? Will Amy’s past explode the relationships of the present? And, crucially, will Yvonne pull off her grand, post-funeral family dinner, the solution to what she fears may be an unsolvable problem?

Told from five perspectives, into the wreck worries at the knotty complexities of one family’s bonds, written with Susannah Dickey’s trademark empathy and wit.

A rare talent, and certainly one to watch' SUNDAY TIMES
'One of literature's major new talents' OBSERVER
'One of the funniest and most insightful novelists writing today' NELL FRIZZELL

"An immersive exploration of grief . . . Wittily explores the fragile dynamics of a family navigating the loss of a father . . . Dickey's background as a poet is more than evident . . . The language is sharp and spare, yet deeply affecting; the five voices each unique and necessary, each one helping the reader better understand the fragile architecture of a family at odds with itself. There are no wasted words in this novel. The humour is observational and pithy . . . Dickey's powerful words encourage us to explore our own buried tragedies and unsung truths" - Guardian

"Dickey’s use of language, right down to individual choice of words, is carefully and artfully considered" - The Skinny