Placeholders

(Paperback)

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An unflinching and emotionally insightful debut about cultural identity, homesickness, love and loss.

In the five years following his brother's death, Aaron has built himself a life of solitary routines. After moving from Dublin to Boston, and illegally overstaying her visa, Risn has done the same.

When the two meet on a night out, they each find in the other something missing in their lives. A semblance of home.

Their relationship is complicated by their disparate religious backgrounds - Aaron is Jewish; Rosn is atheist - and by the harsh realities of everyday life. Just as they're pushed to their breaking point, Rosn realises she is pregnant.

Placeholdersis a poignant story of loneliness corrected and the transformative power of love.

Reviews

Poignant and lyrical, James Roseman's debut explores loss, faith, family and homesickness with care and warmth. A moving debut, Roseman does what the best authors do, and illuminates how one human relates to another -- Bonnie Burke-Patel, author of I Died at Fallow Hall
Placeholders is a beautiful debut. A quietly moving reminder that people, not ideas, are what make or break a home or a heart -- Sheila Armstrong,author ofFalling Animals
There's no way around it: James Roseman writes beautifully. Confident, complex, moving, funny, Placeholders is a novel that makes a beeline to the heart. Time and again, I didn't want it to end -- Declan Toohey, author ofPerpetual Comedown
Placeholders is an incredibly assured debut novel - humane, heartfelt and beautifully observed. Roseman raises huge questions about identity, belonging and family, excelling in his depiction of the small, everyday exchanges which make or break a relationship. A quietly, powerful novel, from a writer I'm keen to keep my eye on -- Jan Carson, author ofQuickly, While They Still Have Horses
An intimate, unflinching, and, above all, heartfelt novel, the best debut I've read this year. Buy your Roseman stock early. I loved this -- Ronan Ryan, author of The Fractured Life of Jimmy Dice