All is Song

(Paperback)

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A fiercely intelligent and moving second novel from the author of the acclaimed The Wilderness. **FROM THE AUTHOR OF 2024 BOOKER PRIZE WINNING ORBITAL** Leonard is alone and rootless, returning to London after his father's death. He moves in with his distant brother William and his family, hoping to renew their friendship but learning to drop his expectations of brotherhood. William is a former lecturer and activist who now runs informal meetings with ex-students. He is defiantly unworldly and forever questioning. When a young student follows William's arguments to a shocking conclusion, it appears William has already set his own fate in motion. Against a backdrop of tabloid frenzy, Leonard can only watch as William embraces the danger in the only way he knows how, which threatens to consume not only himself, but his entire family.

Reviews

Intense, rewarding and bracingly serious -- Adrian Turpin * Financial Times *
Profoundly beautiful, cathartic writing. -- Catherine Taylor * Daily Telegraph *
A fine study of the nature and strength of family ties and the morality, or otherwise, of conforming where it matters -- Kate Saunders * The Times *
This beautifully written composition does that rare thing, of provoking free thought, while scrutinising the far-reaching repercussions of such rebellious activity -- Freya McClelland * Independent *
Harvey's slow, intense thoughtfulness feels positively Woolfean at times. She thinks deeply, and writes beautifully about these thoughts. -- Lucy Atkins * Sunday Times *
This is a novel of ideas that also creates believable characters and explores complex relationships. Harvey's prose is graceful and unhurried, full of sharp observation and moments of subtly understated pathos -- Carol Birch * Guardian *
There's still something compelling in the way Harvey resists the easy and the obvious. The result is a novel of both depth and defiance -- Natasha Tripney * Observer *
A moving novel about family duty and friendship set against a London backdrop of national unrest * Grazia *
Deftly controlled and exquisitely measured -- Brian Donaldson * The List *
How would Socrates get on in 21st century Britain This is the question at the heart of Samantha Harvey's ambitious second novel -- James Walton * Daily Mail *

Author Bio

Samantha Harvey is the author of the novels Orbital, The Wilderness, All is Song, Dear Thief and The Western Wind and a work of non-fiction, The Shapeless Unease- A Year of Not Sleeping. Orbital was the winner of the Booker Prize 2024, and her other work has been shortlisted for the James Tait Black Award, the Women's Prize, the Guardian First Book Award and the Walter Scott Prize. The Wilderness was awarded the Betty Trask Prize. She is a tutor on the MA course in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.