When the Lights Go Out by Carys Bray (Hardback)

£14.99
Available
Product Ref. (e.g. ISBN, SKU)
9781786332349
Published:
12 Nov 2020
Format:
Hardback
Number of pages:
327 pages
Dimensions:
222x144x32mm
Weight:
0.453kgs
Author:
If you believe your world is going to end, how should you live? And what if, while preparing for disaster, you unwittingly precipitate it? While Emma Abram prepares for Christmas, her husband Chris frets about starvation and societal collapse. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Chris has turned off the heating. He treks his sons across the Moss in the drubbing rain. And he has other plans that, if voiced, Emma would surely veto. But it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Emma longs to lower a rope and winch Chris from the pit of his worries. But he doesn't want to be rescued or even reassured - he wants to pull her in after him.

_________________________
'This is a powerful and truthful story about hope and how to find it' THE TIMES

'Wry, beautifully written . . . it works on many levels' DAILY MAIL

'Bray's satire shines with observation and subtlety' GUARDIAN

'She writes with a quiet formidable brilliance. Her observations on relationships are acute, painful and extremely funny. This is a gem of a book.' EMILY MAITLIS
_________________________
Global temperatures are rising.
The climate of the Abrams' marriage is cooling.

Emma is beginning to wonder whether relationships, like mortgages, should be conducted in five-year increments. She might laugh if Chris had bought a motorbike or started dyeing his hair. Instead he's buying off-label medicines and stockpiling food.

Chris finds Emma's relentless optimism exasperating. A tot of dread, a nip of horror, a shot of anger - he isn't asking much. If she would only join him in a measure of something.

The family's precarious eco-system is further disrupted by torrential rains, power cuts and the unexpected arrival of Chris's mother. Emma longs to lower a rope and winch Chris from the pit of his worries. But he doesn't want to be rescued or reassured - he wants to pull her in after him.

Darkly funny and beautifully written, When the Lights Go Out is a novel for our times: a story about cultivating hope and weathering change.
_________________________
'So timely, and so deeply human, a novel which takes us right into the heart of a marriage and at the same time grapples with the most crucial issue of our age. It's bursting with compassion and wisdom.' SHELLEY HARRIS, author of JUBILEE

'Through exquisite use of language and observation, she examines the intricacies of family life in ways which have you laughing one moment and biting your nails with worry the next.' SARAH FRANKLIN, author of SHELTER

'With characteristic wit and humanity, Bray shows us the necessity and the impossibility of preparing for disaster, and reminds us of both the fragility and capacity of love.' JENN ASHWORTH, author of A KIND OF INTIMACY and FELL

'I think WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT is exactly the novel we need in these times: it's complex, nuanced, and compassionate, frightening and heartening. I think Carys has written something truly extraordinary and I hope it flies. I'll certainly be cheering it on.' STEPHANIE BUTLAND

'Gorgeously written... funny and compassionate... I found it very affecting.' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, 2020 Pick of the Year

About the Author: Carys Bray was awarded the Scott Prize for her debut short-story collection, Sweet Home. Her first novel, A Song for Issy Bradley, was chosen for Radio 4's Book at Bedtime and was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and winner of the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2015. She lives in Southport with her husband and four children.

More Information
Number of pages 327

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