‘Puts some of the balls back into serious English fiction’ GILES COREN, THE TIMES
‘Whisky-soaked, guttural, stinking and funny’ EVIE WYLD, OBSERVER
‘Thrilling, brutal, poetic, literary and irresistible, one of the 21st century’s first great 20th-century American novels’ LOUISA YOUNG
‘Puts some of the balls back into serious English fiction’ GILES COREN, THE TIMES
‘Whisky-soaked, guttural, stinking and funny’ EVIE WYLD, OBSERVER
‘Thrilling, brutal, poetic, literary and irresistible, one of the 21st century’s first great 20th-century American novels’ LOUISA YOUNG
Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize 2023
‘A hugely impressive debut’ SARAH WATERS
‘[A] haunting and moving story’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘A powerful and inspired achievement. This one is not to be missed’ NATHAN HARRIS
’A haunting, powerful and utterly unforgettable read’ RACHEL HENG
One of ‘the best books to look forward to in 2023’COSMOPOLITAN
‘A poignant debut which marks Krystle Zara Appiah out as one of Britain’s best new young writers’HARPER’S BAZAAR
‘It broke my heart’ Louise O’Neill
‘Hard-hitting’ The Timess
‘Powerful and bittersweet’ Daily Mail
‘Beat[s] Normal People at its own game’ Harper’s Bazaar
‘Stephenson’s reputation as a sci-fi titan is deserved’ Sunday Times
‘His most visionary, and timely, book yet’ Chicago Review of Books
‘Absorbing speculative fiction’ Guardian
*WATERSTONES WELSH BOOK OF THE MONTH*
Paris, 1891 Laura is living on the streets, far from the American Prairies where she was born. When rescued by the entrancing aerialists, Ena and Auguste Gaudron, she soon finds herself ensconced in the family hot air balloon business, and offered the chance to learn how to fly.
‘Unmissable’ STYLIST
‘A really gripping read’ TIMES RADIO
