The Gallopers

(Hardback)

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1953. Eli is nineteen years old and lives alongside a cursed field with his strange aunt Dreama. Six months before, his mother disappeared during the North Sea flood. Unsure of his place in the world and of the man he is becoming, Eli is ready to run. Shane Wright is a man with plenty to hide. Caught in a complicated relationship with Eli, Shane is desperate to maintain the double life that he has created for himself. Then Jimmy Smart appears. Jimmy Smart, the mysterious showman who turns the gallopers at the fair. Under his watchful gaze, Eli discovers a world he knows nothing about with rules he cannot understand.

Reviews

A powerful new voice of gay working-class life This eloquent heart-felt debut pulls the reader right beside him a writer of real talent. Guardian. The Whale Tattoo is remarkable. A potent tale of grief, love and ultimately forgiveness. The Spectator. Debut of the year 2022 Guardian. A bold, brilliant and beautiful debut. Suzannah Dunn. If you only read one debut novel this year make it this one. The Whale Tattoo is a book of visceral, magnetic raw pulsating beauty. A mesmeric, gritty tour de force. Attitude Magazine. A stunning achievement - one of the most impressive and assured debuts I ve ever read Matt Cain

Author Bio

Jon Ransom grew up in Norfolk and now lives near Cambridge. He was a mentee on the 2019 Escalator Talent Development scheme at the National Centre for Writing. Ransom's short stories have appeared in many anthologies and journals including Queer Life, Queer Love amongst others. He has been awarded an Arts Council grant to develop The Gallopers.