Take Nothing With You

(Paperback)

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From the bestselling author of A PLACE CALLED WINTER comes a compassionate, compelling new novel of boyhood, coming of age, and the confusions of desire and reality.

'It's delicious, it's dear, it's heart-breaking and very funny' Rachel Joyce

'An incredibly beautiful story told with compassion. Nothing is wasted. Each sentence is beautifully crafted' Joanna Cannon

1970s Weston-Super-Mare and ten-year-old oddball Eustace, an only child, has life transformed by his mother's quixotic decision to sign him up for cello lessons. Music-making brings release for a boy who is discovering he is an emotional volcano. He laps up lessons from his young teacher, not noticing how her brand of glamour is casting a damaging spell over his frustrated and controlling mother.

When he is enrolled in holiday courses in the Scottish borders, lessons in love, rejection and humility are added to daily practice.

Drawing in part on his own boyhood, Patrick Gale's new novel explores a collision between childish hero worship and extremely messy adult love lives.

Reviews

He hovers between social comedy and apocalyptic tragedy without the move appearing artificial or contrived. Just a wonderful, wonderful read - Stephen Fry

Sexy, joyous, funny and tender. I relished it. - Sarah Winman

Joyous and full of light. I gobbled the whole lot in one go. He is a beautiful and empathetic writer. - Cathy Rentzenbrink

Safe in the arms of Patrick Gale's beautiful writing again. I could weep with joy. - Joanna Cannon

A fascinating story, gripping, moving and exquisitely written, this is a wonderful gift of a book from one of the best writers working today - S J Watson

A mesmerising storyteller - The Times

A writer with heart, soul, and a dark and naughty wit, one whose company you relish and trust - Observer

What Gale does so well is to delineate the unpremeditated consequences of actions...The final chapter left me with a lump in my throat - Guardian

Author Bio

Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight. He spent his infancy at Wandsworth Prison, which his father governed, then grew up in Winchester before going to Oxford University. He now lives on a farm near Land's End. One of this country's best-loved novelists, his most recent works are A Perfectly Good Man, the Richard and Judy bestseller Notes From An Exhibition, the Costa-shortlisted A Place Called Winter and Take Nothing With You. His original BBC television drama, Man In An Orange Shirt, was shown to great acclaim in 2017 as part of the BBC's Queer Britannia series, leading viewers around the world to discover his novels.