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What Was Lost

by Catherine O'Flynn (Goodreads Author)

3.46 of 5 stars 3.46 · rating details · 2,885 ratings · 638 reviews

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"Green Oaks: two hours outside the banks today. Nothing to note except short man walking about unaware of 4-foot length of toilet paper stuck to his shoe."

Kate Meaney, a precocious 10-year-old, is no ordinary sleuth. Notebook in hand, Kate is always on the lookout for suspicious characters and their dodgy doings. And when spunky...more

Paperback, 244 pages

Published April 15th 2007 by Tindal Street (first published 2007)

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The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon

Non-Winners of the Man Booker

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Sep 08, 2007 Mary-anne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookerlonglist2007

After reading this book, I can't wait for Cathering O'Flynn's next novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The opening is so charming and Kate Meaney is such a sweet character. As the first part opens up a bit more, we see that she's actually quite lonely and her situation is sad, but she bravely carries on in her quest to get her detective agency off the ground, even though she's only 10 years old. The details of her agency (buying stationery, researching walkie talkies, staking out the mall, etc...more After reading this book, I can't wait for Cathering O'Flynn's next novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The opening is so charming and Kate Meaney is such a sweet character. As the first part opens up a bit more, we see that she's actually quite lonely and her situation is sad, but she bravely carries on in her quest to get her detective agency off the ground, even though she's only 10 years old. The details of her agency (buying stationery, researching walkie talkies, staking out the mall, etc.) are so funny, but it's her notetaking and the observations she makes that are so clever and insightful and just make her so endearing. I loved this character.

When the second part of the book begins, we flash forward 20 years and Kate is missing, and has been missing for 20 years. The story follows three characters who are all related to her disappearance, the sister of the man who was suspected of being involved in her disappearance (Lisa), a man who may have been the last person to see her alive (Kurt) and another person I don't want to say too much about because I want you to get chills at the end of the book too. Lisa and Kurt both work at the mall where Kate carried out her surveillances as a young girl, Lisa as an assistant manager at the music store, and Kurt as a security guard. They both hate their jobs and have some pretty funny situations, observations, and dialogues pertaining to the life of the mall that make this book very current. The effect of the mall on society is a main theme in this book. "High street" shopping is often compared to mall shopping and how that's affected daily life and how people relate to each other.

This book covered things I haven't come across in fiction yet and so I found it fresh and modern. The "mystery shopper" concept, the glass cube classical department in the music store, the modern upper retail management style, with it's ever-threatening store visit, and the constant surveillance are just some of the current topics this novel covers. It has already changed my mall experience - just today I noticed a guy at the mall with an ear-piece thingy and it made me feel so watched.

O'Flynn is very good to her reader. She ties all the loose ends up beautifully and even leaves you with an unexpected tear in the eye (Oprah-style).

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10 likes · like · see review

Jul 15, 2008 Dorian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3 1/2 stars would be more accurate. Quick and mostly compelling first novel--written in 3rd person no less! Free indirect dicoruse! Hooray!

One of the three different narrative focalizations--that is, those sections that emphasises the actions and thoughts of a ten-year old would-be detective in 1980s Britain--is more compelling than the other two. Not so much a crime novel as a meditation on crime. The book also has the virtue of being, esp in its first half, laugh out loud funny. The author app...more

3 likes · like · see review

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Kathrina It's calling my name, too. I haven't read Cocaine Nights, so I'll have to take a look. I think I see the comparison you make for Crash, but I think th...more
Dec 10, 2009 09:10pm

Dorian Kathrina wrote: "It's calling my name, too. I haven't read Cocaine Nights, so I'll have to take a look. I think I see the comparison you make for Cras...more
Dec 10, 2009 09:58pm

Nov 10, 2008 Stacey rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the most unique and imaginative books I've read in a long time. It's like Office Space meets Nancy Drew meets Silence of the Lambs meets Lost in Translation. It also reminded me of the Beatles song Eleanor Rigby: "All the lonely people, where do they all come from?"
Sorry for the comparison casserole, but it's a hard book to describe. It starts off following a little girl who imagines herself as a secret detective, then fast-forwards 20 years after her mysterious disappearance and...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels

There were various important aspects of this book which I frankly did not believe - unhappily, the character (however endearing) of 10 year old Kate is one of them. She wanders around town and occasionally stays out all night with zero adult supervision and is hugely braver and more intent and concentrated than any actual 10 year old. She's pure fantasy, she's not a real kid at all, she's the kind of kid character adults make up and they're so nice it seems rude to point out how fake they are. E...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 20, 2011 Mon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: art-and-architecture

A few weeks ago, Borders across Sydney had a massive 75-90% off clearance sales. Not expecting anything good, I went into them looking for anything that looked like it would last more than 10 pages before I trash it in the bin and still, somehow, ended up with just 4 books. One of them was Don DeLillo's Underworld, I got it because it was insanely cheap and thick at the same time. The other two were 19th century classics that I planned to use as birthday presents (I know, but hey, I'm sure they...more A few weeks ago, Borders across Sydney had a massive 75-90% off clearance sales. Not expecting anything good, I went into them looking for anything that looked like it would last more than 10 pages before I trash it in the bin and still, somehow, ended up with just 4 books. One of them was Don DeLillo's Underworld, I got it because it was insanely cheap and thick at the same time. The other two were 19th century classics that I planned to use as birthday presents (I know, but hey, I'm sure they would be more appreciated than Target chocolate).

What Was Lost was the last one I picked out of a pile of sad looking $5 paperbacks lying on the ground. I was initially intrigued by its cover, which reminded me of Douglas Coupland's Shampoo Planet

So despite its tacky title font, I brought the book home.

And I was pleasantly surprised by WWL's sophistication. I wrote my architectural theory term paper on the danger of chained Shopping Center (or The Mall) homogenising consumptive experience and contributing to the lost of place-specific locality. Baudrillard once said that shopping centers have became the genius loci of the urban landscape, and that was only 20 years ago. I'm not sure how much O'Flynn knows about contemporary architecture, but she was spot on in the dissertation of that dreaded, air-conditioned experience of working in a mall. Marc Auge called it Non-place, Koolhaas called it Junkspace, both signifying a dissatisfaction of such retail architecture and how it is stripped of any possible symbolic meaning. There are some fairly profound ideas explored (or maybe I'm reading too much into it, I think I'm still stuck in the paper writing mode), and I enjoyed the way she toys with the concepts, provoking her audience without being too academic (I'm looking at you Koolhaas. I would like you more if you stop writing books that are longer than 800 pages).

That being said, What Was Lost is a light read. The opening is humourous and while the last two chapters more contemplative, the philosophy is very light hearted and introductory. Now, if only all the arch theory books on retail are this easy and short.

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6 likes · like · see review

Dec 01, 2012 Bettie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: published-2007, autumn-2012, one-penny-wonder, mystery-thriller, library-in-norway, booker-longlist

Withdrawn from Buckingham County Library

Dedication:


Written for Peter,
and dedicated to the memory
of Donal of Hillstreet
and Ellen of Oylegate

Crime was out there. Undetected. Unseen. She hpoped she wouldn't be too late. The bus driver was keeping the bus at a steady 15mph, breaking at every appproaching green light until it turned red. She closed her eyes and continued the journey in her head as slowly as she could. She opened them but still the bus lagged far behind her worst projection. Pedestria...more Withdrawn from Buckingham County Library

Dedication:


Written for Peter,
and dedicated to the memory
of Donal of Hillstreet
and Ellen of Oylegate

4 likes · like · see review

Oct 28, 2008 Monica Edinger rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult

This is a fairly short book, but I spent a long time with it because I was listening to it.

This book begins in 1984 as little Kate Meaney wanders about her world of council flats and the Green Oaks mall, taking notes and investigating, a sad little Harriet the Spy. Then it jumps forward to twenty years dead smack in the midst of Green Oaks. Kate, we learn, disappeared in 1984 and no one ever knew what happened to her. Now we follow Kurt, a security guard and Lisa, a music store manager, both te...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 16, 2009 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, fiction, guest-bedroom, own-paperback, written-review, authors-to-watch-for, books-for-sarah

I wanted to love this book, and ultimately found it very funny, fresh, disturbing and original, but the fact that it was so different from what I expected and that I didn't have much in common with the main characters interfered with my positive feelings about it. It was a mystery about a ten year old girl whose disappearance leaves many unanswered questions and repercussions in its wake. The first half follows the activities of little Kate Meany, a self-styled 'detective' who shadows imaginary...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 12, 2008 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: work-review-related-reading, 5-star

This first novel has gotten quite a bit of attention already--it's won the 2007 COSTA First Novel Award, was shortlisted for The Guardian First Book Award and long listed for both the Booker and the Orange prize.

O'Flynn is truly a new voice with a great talent. This book starts off with quirky 10 year old Kate, orphaned and living with her grandmother, a very smart, loner of a child. But
she's not lonely--she's too busy running her own detective agency. Falling in love with her takes all of about...more

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Feb 25, 2008 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

The shopping mall is relatively unexplored territory for writers of literary fiction. So it was an interesting decision by Catherine O'Flynn to use it as the setting for her novel. Focusing on the disappearance of a ten year old girl,the narrative is split between 1984 when the mall is in its early days and 2003, when it has become the kind of cathedral to consumerism we're all so familiar with today. The first half of the novel is told from the point of view of Kate, the girl who disappears, an...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 17, 2008 Ollie rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: shopping addicts, CCTV obsessives and ghost hunters

Recommended to Ollie by: the newspapers

I never knew ghosts stories could be this depressing. Either they scare you, make you laugh or leave you indifferent, right? Catherine O'Flynn breaks new haunting ground with this novel, winner of the Costa Fist Novel Award 2007, by exploring the sadness generated in a community after the construction of a glossy shopping centre in the 80s, and the ghost that inhabits it. The novel centres around little Kate, who wishes to escape her reality by playing detective and following strangers in the ma...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 13, 2007 Matt rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those who liked To Kill a Mockingbird, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Shelves: dawnofthedeadshelf

In 1983 10 year old junior detective Kate Meaney--with her stuffed gangster monkey Mickey in tow--vanishes from a public school entrance exam. Her detective instincts previously leading her all throughout the newly opened Green Oaks shopping mall near her home, not to mention the curious neighborhoods near her English home, her disappearance suggests she stumbled upon activities of a nature no 10 year old ought to witness. "What Was Lost," which splits its time 33/67 between 1983 and 2004, spend...more In 1983 10 year old junior detective Kate Meaney--with her stuffed gangster monkey Mickey in tow--vanishes from a public school entrance exam. Her detective instincts previously leading her all throughout the newly opened Green Oaks shopping mall near her home, not to mention the curious neighborhoods near her English home, her disappearance suggests she stumbled upon activities of a nature no 10 year old ought to witness. "What Was Lost," which splits its time 33/67 between 1983 and 2004, spends it's final two thirds in the 21st century unraveling the mystery of her disappearance. In 2004 a haunted and lonely mall security guard Kurt befriends benumbed and lonely Lisa, a manager at one of the mall's music superstores, and their burgeoning relationship, and the connection they share with the lost girl Kate, pulls the disparate mysteries of this story to a resounding close.

Catherine O'Flynn's real accomplishment should be the way she bridges 20 years and two vastly unrelated narratives to tie up--if not entirely resolve--the unknowns in the lives of her three protagonists. But what will stand out is Kate's voice. Part Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird," part Nancy Drew (without the technological gadgetry and know-how of Veronica Mars), Kate's imagination and ambition nearly drown out her despondant loneliness. Her friendship with Adrian, her relationships with her family--both parents are gone and she's being raised by a grandmother--all evince aspects of her solitude. And yet she's a charmer, a girl you'd want to an ice cream for.

The shift in tone from Kate's fairly light-hearted opening in 1983 to Lisa and Kurt's glum 2004 is as evident as the author's intention for us to connect these three characters. It's handled deftly and without incongruous linguistic pyrotechnics. O'Flynn's clear, lucid prose tells the story at it's own leisurely pace, and the patience with which she writes demands a certain patience from the reader. In the end much is revealed; no one is good or bad, or even mostly good and a little bad, or mostly bad and a little good. These are people stuck in a time and a place and they simply seem to exist as the world at large dictates their lives. Kate escapes that--and through the mystery of her disappearance, most others do as well.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 30, 2009 Evanston Public Library added it

In 1980s Birmingham, England, young Kate Meaney works seriously hard as a junior detective. Accompanied by detective in training, Mickey (a toy monkey), she trails suspects around town and at the Green Oaks shopping mall, recording her every observation in a top secret notebook. When she suddenly disappears, suspicion falls on her older friend Adrian, son of a local shopkeeper, though the case remains unresolved.
Cut to 2003, at the rather malevolent Green Oaks shopping mall, where consumerism d...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 15, 2008 Ken rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people looking for a challenging read with a little bit of mystery.

What Was Lost starts out quite strong. In the first section, I could not put it down. As the novel progressed, though, I became less excited, and I felt the ending did not fulfill the promise of the beginning.

What Was Lost follows an ensemble of characters and their relationships to each other and to the Green Oaks Mall in Birmingham, England. The story begins with Kate Meaney, and I could not read enough about her and the world she inhabits and half creates for herself. For reasons I don't want...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 31, 2011 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Nov 14, 2010 Paolo Antonio Livorati rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Kurt e Lisa lavorano entrambi a Green Oaks, un enorme centro commerciale che domina l’urbanistica, l’economia e la vita di un sobborgo di Birmingham. Lui è una guardia giurata dall'insonnia cronica, lei commesso capo in un negozio di CD che fa parte di una grande catena. Non si conoscono, ma quando nei nastri delle telecamere a circuito chiuso comparirà Kate, una bambina svanita nel nulla vent’anni prima, un passato doloroso li farà incontrare e li spingerà a indagare e ricordare, anche contro l...more

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Mar 26, 2009 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime-fiction

A good mystery.
Kate Meaney "works" as a junior detective, trailing potential suspects and sharpening her observation skills so that when she grows up, she can become a full-fledged detective. During her daily travels through the neighborhood, she becomes friends with Adrian, a 22 year old shopkeeper who, unlike most adults Kate knows, treats her with respect. When Kate goes missing, Adrian is the top suspect.
Twenty years later Adrian's little sister Lisa works in a dead end job at the mall, miss...more

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Mar 16, 2009 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. What Was Lost is a brilliant book. In the first half, Kate is a ten-year-old girl who has formed a junior detective agency along with her toy monkey. Kate's father has died of a stroke and she's left in the care of her emotionally distant grandmother. Kate spends her days patrolling the newly built mall and forming an unusual friendship with Adrian, a grown man who works in a neighborhood store. When Kate disappears, Adrian is blamed.

Twenty years later, in the second half of the novel, Adrian's...more

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Mar 02, 2009 Eva Mitnick rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is almost a 5 star review, and the only reason it isn't is because I listened to the audiobook edition, which was narrated SO brilliantly by Catherine Skinner that it may well have increased my love for the book. All the action centers around Green Oaks, a shopping mall in Birmingham, and never was a shopping mall such a depressing, cynical, malignant, and soul-deadening character. In one segment of this story, 10-year-old Kate, a very odd yet wonderful loner whose main companion is a stuff...more

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Jan 11, 2009 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

For anyone who is considering reading this novel, this is my disclaimer.
The first 20 pages or so are slow, but after you read those pages you're out of the woods. KEEP READING. I assure you it's worth it.

This novel was an unexpected treasure. I was impressed with O'Flynn's perception of today's generation and it's values (or lack there of.) I haven't come across many good modern novels talking about today's society.
That wasn't really the focus of the book, but it was probably my second favorite...more

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Dec 18, 2008 June rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a complex and very intriguing story. I think when I started reading the book, I did not give it the full attention that it deserved that when the central mystery started unfolding, I was kicking myself for not knowing the subtle hints/scenes that had unfolded earlier. But I guess that speaks to the quality of the story, that after I finished reading the book, I immediately went back and did some searching. The story centers around a precocious young girl who is fascinated with detective...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Jürgen Zeller rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gleich vorneweg damit es zu keinen Missverständnissen und falschen Erwartungen kommt: Dieses Buch ist alles andere als ein Krimi oder eine Geistergeschichte, obwohl der Klappentext dies suggeriert. Ich würde das Buch eher unter Belletristik oder Zeitgenössische Literatur einordnen und ja die Kurzbeschreibung stimmt erstaunlicherweise trotzdem!

Da ist dieses ernste Mädchen mit den traurigen blauen Augen, die einem folgen, die immer beobachten. Kate Meaney, eine Detektivin die beinahe unsichtbar du...more Gleich vorneweg damit es zu keinen Missverständnissen und falschen Erwartungen kommt: Dieses Buch ist alles andere als ein Krimi oder eine Geistergeschichte, obwohl der Klappentext dies suggeriert. Ich würde das Buch eher unter Belletristik oder Zeitgenössische Literatur einordnen und ja die Kurzbeschreibung stimmt erstaunlicherweise trotzdem!

Da ist dieses ernste Mädchen mit den traurigen blauen Augen, die einem folgen, die immer beobachten. Kate Meaney, eine Detektivin die beinahe unsichtbar durch die Etagen des Shoppingcenters Green Oaks patrouilliert und Sachen sieht, die sonst niemand bemerkt. Gewissenhaft notiert sich die 10-jährige alles in ihrem streng geheimen Ermittlungsnotizbuch und bespricht die beobachteten Vorkommnisse mit ihrem Partner Mickey, ihrem Stoffaffen. Aber psssst, das mit Mickey ist eigentlich höchst vertraulich und darf nicht weiterverbreitet werden. So verbringt Kate ganz in Gedanken versunken ihre gesamte Freizeit im Einkaufszentrum, beseelt von der Vorstellung ein Verbrechen das sich jeden Moment ereignen könnte zu beobachten und der Polizei anschliessend als verlässliche Zeugin zu dienen.

Der zweite Abschnitt des Romans spielt dann zwanzig Jahre später und wir verlassen auf einen Schlag Kates wundersame Welt. Für mich ein herber Verlust, ich hätte die sympathische Kate und ihre bemerkenswerten Gedankenspiele gerne noch viel viel länger begleitet. Noch immer spielt sich alles im Einkaufscenter Green Oaks ab und dieses nimmt als solches sogar die eigentliche Hauptrolle ein. Lisa, Kurt und Gavin stehen mit ihrem Lebensporträt stellvertretend für die Anonymisierung und Einsamkeit unserer konsumorientierten Gesellschaft. So wie Kate zu Beginn, erweist sich nun die Autorin als scharfe Beobachterin und sie weiss ihre Erkenntnisse brillant und eindringlich niederzuschreiben. Es wirkt sprachlich leicht aber sie dringt bis ganz tief ins Mark ein und bringt verdrängte Wahrheiten, geplatzte Träume und so manche Lebenslügen ans Licht.

Im dritten Teil löst sich die Geschichte um die vor zwanzig Jahren verschollene Kate auf und ich weiss nun "Was mit Kate geschah". Aber dies darf und werde ich hier natürlich nicht schreiben.

Dieser Roman ist ganz anders ist als ich erwartet habe und er hat mich deutlich mehr berührt als ich ehrlicherweise zugeben möchte. Ich bin immer noch daran über das Gelesene nachzudenken und das ein oder andere will mir nicht aus dem Kopf gehen... Ein Buch das beim Leser etwas auslöst, ein grösseres Kompliment kann man einem Roman wohl nicht machen. Ich empfehle dieses niveauvolle Buch uneingeschränkt weiter.(less)

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Apr 24, 2013 Amber rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kate Meany is 10 years old in 1984, a lonely little girl who wants to be a detective. She hangs out at the brand new shopping mall with her stuffed monkey, watching people for suspicious behavior, her only friend an aimless young man who is twice her age. Fast-forward twenty years, where we learn that Kate disappeared as a child and was never found again, that her friend Adrian was the only suspect in the crime, and that he disappeared too, unable to take the suspicion surrounding him. As you ma...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Michelle rated it 2 of 5 stars

This mystery book was nominated for a number of awards including being longlisted
for the Booker Prize. You can argue that the structure of this book is a little disjointed.
It begins wonderfully with the evocative details of the daily life of Kate, a 10 year old
junior detective who has formed her own detective agency with her toy monkey
Mickey. Kate disappears on the day of her taking an entrance exam to a private
school. Then the book switches rather abruptly to the daily lives of several empl...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Samy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What Was Lost is a 246-page adult realistic fiction novel by Catherine O’Flynn. It is about an independent ten-year-old girl, Kate Meany, who lives alone in England with her grandmother and works as a detective in her free time. She spends her days trailing suspects around the local Green Oaks Shopping Center with her toy monkey, Mickey, and making notes about people in her little detective handbook. When Kate goes missing, everyone immediately suspects Kate’s only friend, her 23-year-old neighb...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Rosario (http://rosario.blogspot.com/) rated it 4 of 5 stars

In 1984, a 10-year-old wannabe PI disappears without a trace. 20 years later, two employees in the shopping centre that was one of the little girl's usual haunts start noticing a mysterious little girl wandering the service corridors at weird times. Thinking it can't really be a ghost, they investigate.

This was one of those books where you have absolutely no idea where the author's going, and I quite enjoyed that. The sections narrated from little Kate Meaney's point of view, as she compensates...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Catherine O'Flynn is an amazing writer, and I will definitely read more books by her. She made me see the simple and everyday - a mall, school room, corner store - seem like interesting and sometimes magical places. Yet I wish this story went in a completely different direction - but it's the author's story to tell, not mine.

The book starts in 1984 in an English suburb/small city and then moves to 20 years later. The main character in the 1984 section is an elementary school-aged girl named Kate...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Diana rated it 3 of 5 stars

This shortish novel is a captivating and complex story of loss, disconnection, generosity and redemption; but I was practically at the end of it before I accepted that. The plot has a lot going for it: part mystery, part ghost story, the connections between the various strands are skilfully teased out so that I always wanted to know more and was genuinely surprised by a satisfying twist at the end.
A young girl who fancies herself a sleuth, Green Oaks Shopping Centre, a security guard with a secr...more

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May 13, 2012 AJ rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels, fiction

I picked this one up because it was on the "Books you might have missed" shelf at the library. I can usually find something good there. This one seemed interesting, and I thought the premise sounded good, but it wasn't quite what I expected. I was expecting some mystery about the kidnapping, and there wasn't. The story was not about that, but thankfully it does get solved in the end. Though it takes reading to the last few pages to find out. I liked the little twist.

I really liked all of the cha...more

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May 07, 2012 Adele Ward rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had an odd reason for reading this novel. Somebody told me my novel reminded them of What Is Lost, as both are set in shopping centres. There are other striking similarities in some of the small details, but overall they are two very different books.

I looked forward to What Is Lost and really wanted to enjoy it. It's in the kind of setting and with the kind of characters, themes, and storylines that appeal to me. The strengths of the writing showed at times when the story zoomed in with a clea...more

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About Catherine O'Flynn

Catherine O'Flynn, born in 1970, is a British writer.

Her debut novel, What Was Lost, won the Costa First Novel Award, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, The Commonwealth Writers' Prize and The Southbank Show Literature Award. It was longlisted for the Booker and Orange Prizes. She was named Waterstone’s Newcomer of the Year at the 2008 Galaxy British Book Awards.

Her second novel T...more

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“I don’t know – I suppose if you’re very unhappy at home, anywhere is better than there.” — 3 people liked it

“She found the evenings long and empty, and the nights worse. She dreaded the weekends.” — 2 people liked it

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