Leave Before You Go

(Paperback)

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Description

London has ground Daniel down. Grasping for an escape from the urban drudgery of his life, he is enticed by a free trip and the promise of ten thousand dollars, all for the simple delivery of a package for an acquaintance.

Finding himself quickly ensnared in the murky netherworld of drug smuggling, Daniels life descends into a montage of casinos and grungy hotels, stuck in New Zealand when he wins and loses a fortune in one night. Grit and tenacity will be his only redemption in this illicit pressure-cooker of a world. Equally dissatisfied with her life, Kate, an usherette in Auckland, pines for an ex-boyfriend and yearns for genuine fulfilment. Their lives will become indelibly entwined.

Sharp and poignant, Emily Perkins debut novel examines a disenfranchised generation in search of purpose.

Reviews

A swift, cinematic study of generational malaise...told with major zest and humour * Bret Easton Ellis *
The funniest, sharpest depiction of postmodern twentysomething life Ive read Perkins prose is vitreous and concise * Time Out London *
Amid the noisy chorus of twentysomething novels, Emily Perkins's distinctive voice . . . stands out for its lightness and authenticity * Observer *

Author Bio

Emily Perkins is the author of a prize-winning collection of short stories, Not Her Real Name, and four novels, including Novel About My Wife (winner of the NZ Book Award and the Believer Magazine Book of the Year, The Forrests (longlisted for the Womens Prize for Fiction) and Lioness (winner of the Ockham NZ Prize for Fiction). Her work for stage and screen includes co-writing the film adaptation of Eleanor Cattons novel The Rehearsal (dir. Alison Maclean), an adaptation of Ibsens A Dolls House, and the original play The Made. She lives in New Zealand.