For admirers of Tom Rachman's work, particularly The Imperfectionists, this is a return to the formal ingenuity and technique that he exhibited so flamboyantly in his bestselling debut.
It's set during a crisis in democracy, a society in lockdown linked digitally but convulsed by a social media frenzy, and is told by a little-known, little-read Dutch novelist named Dora Frenhofer who has decided that her life as an old woman in this post-truth pandemic world has become too much.
But like a twenty-first century Scheherazade Dora spins stories to fend off the evil day, conjuring connections from her past to give meaning to the present. She imagines the fate of her missing brother, lost on the hippie trail in India in the sixties; the loneliness of her estranged daughter Beck, whose career writing stand-up shows for Netflix dramatizes the culture wars; Danny, an almost equally unfashionable writer she meets at a festival; the tortured history of the van driver who takes her unwanted books away; the nonchalant courier who nearly ran her over in the rain; her former lover, the sophisticated food critic; her last remaining friend. And finally, Dora's own last chapter.
The Imposters is Rachman at his inimitable best, a writer whose formal ingenuity and flamboyant technique is matched by his humanity and generosity
ISBN 9781529425840
I know the mill has a story cos there's something strange going on. I heard something. I've decided that I'm going to find out what it is later today when Ma leaves. Cos even if it is scary, we live here and we're never leaving. So if there's something going on, I need to know.
In an old, abandoned mill, a girl and her ma take shelter from their memories of life on the streets. To the girl it's home, her safe place, the Castle. But as her ma spins out of control and the Authorities move ever closer, the girl finds herself trapped - stuck in the crumbling mill with only the ghosts of the past for company.
Can she move on before it's too late?
'Perfect for fans of David Almond and Katherine Rundell' - The Guardian
'A compelling and heart-breaking debut with an unexpecting twist, reminiscent of A Monster Calls' - Glamour magazine
'Pitch-perfect Dublin voice' - Irish Times
'The Girl in Between' grabbed me from the start and held on so tight it left bruises' - Geraldine McCaughrean
'In turns beautiful, devastating and ultimately uplifting, The Girl in Between demands re-reading' - Zana Fraillon, author of The Bone Sparrow
'Dark, sometimes profound, this is the kind of book that envelops readers in its world, sending them blinking into the light with the voice and images still ringing in their heads' LoveReading4Kids.co.uk
'A descriptive story that's intriguing, emotionally engaging ... with a twist at the end.' The Book Bag
About the Author
Sarah currently splits her time between a houseboat in Dublin and travel abroad. She recently returned from five years in Tanzania where she founded and ran a hostel while working to support local community projects. She continues to promote ethical overseas volunteering through her blogs and films on www.theethicalvolunteer.com, while planning her next book.