Islanders

Islanders
Cathy Thomas
Trade Paperback
h216 x 135mm - 224pg
2 Jun 2022 UK
9780349016276
Out Of Stock
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9780349016283 UK Hardback $40.00

A gritty, beautiful and darkly funny book of linked stories covering twenty years in the lives of a group of intertwined people on the island of GuernseyPaul needs drugs for the party, but he also needs to take care of Josie. Josie needs a father figure. That' s what Neil thinks, anyway. And that' s all he wants to be to her, right? Annie needs to lose her virginity, so her friends have set her up with Paul. Becky needs to go to a real party and meet some real men, and she' s not bringing Claire. Jen needs to wait for the ambulance. Then they can be the ones to take care of Kat. Claire needs to give Nikki the hen do of a lifetime. And she needs to talk to Becky about what she' s found out. But she can' t stop thinking about what' s happened to Kat.
A wonderful, vivid, bittersweet collection, a universal insight into the unglamorous lives of glamorous places. -- Sara Baume, author of Spill, Simmer, Falter, Wither Islanders is a gritty, dark and joyful book about a complex cast of characters. Every one of these stories reveals gleams of love and tenderness; every one of them packs a punch -- Michelle Gallen, author of Big Girl, Small Town You feel everything in this book. Textured, intense, claustrophobic but riotously human and authentic. -- Niamh Campbell, author of This Happy A layered, immersive and sensory collection, Islanderspulses with life and pathos. Cathy Thomas weaves these overlapping and intersecting stories with finesse, humour, and breathtaking precision. I loved it -- Eimear Ryan, author of Holding Her Breath Islanders is elegant, gritty, funny and unflinching, full of the joys and pains of life, and with a remarkable sense of place. I gulped it down and wanted more. Utterly wonderful. -- Luiza Sauma, Everything You Ever Wanted The thwarted, unorganised, and chaotic rituals of youth are wonderfully evoked, as are the ruptures in those adult lives that have become stale, untruthful, and painful; an affecting and funny debut -- Oisin Fagan, author of Nobber These stories are so good. With beautiful and devastating precision, Cathy Thomas has crafted an unforgettable portrait of her island homeland Guernsey, revealed through a web of frail, flawed and - against all odds - connected human lives. -- Mia Gallagher, author of Shift I devoured these stories. With impressive range and beautifully precise observations, Thomas writes about what home and homesickness really means, the impact of regret, and the challenges of truly growing up. A voice to watch -- Julianne Pachico, author of The Anthill An immensely readable debut, full of pathos . . . Every place should have a writer like Cathy Thomas to tell its stories; Guernsey is very lucky to have her -- Barney Norris, author of Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain Fresh and funny and so sharply observed -- Jan Carson, author of The Raptures The shared but multifaceted claustrophobia of these interwoven lives is intoxicating. Cathy Thomas has a real talent for capturing the specific ennui, yearning, and resignation that occur within a small, resected place; the thoughts that hide behind innocuous conversations, the traitorous desires. This is a sticky, sensory, and very clever collection. -- Susannah Dickey, author of Tennis Lessons A vivid collection of short stories, each one unlocking the next, written in luminous prose that shares the whip and sting of the English Channel its characters call home. Cathy Thomas has given us an island that is never silent, a world of peer pressure, drunk driving and yawning cliffs. This thoughtful, generous work will linger in the memory -- James Clarke, author of Hollow in the Land Funny, complex and painfully insightful, full of empathy without a sniff of sentimentality. The stories are shot through with exquisite details, and descriptions so evocative they left me stunned. Thomas draws the curtain around her reader and her characters, so that while you are with them, each of these tiny lives matters more than any other - what a feat -- Elske Rahill, author of An Unravelling
Cathy Thomas grew up in the South West and Guernsey. She now lives in London. Her short fiction has appeared in the Stinging Fly, BANSHEE and Litro. She was selected for the 2014/5 Jerwood/ Arvon Mentoring Scheme as a dramatist and holds an MA in playwriting.
Status: No local or imported stock presently available
ISBN-13: 9780349016276
Published: 2 Jun 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Virago Press
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Trade Paperback
Height: 216mm
Width: 135mm
Spine: 22mm
Weight: 41g
Pages: 224

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