The Orange Room

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

For readers of Coco Mellors and Megan Nolan, a poised, vivid and deeply relatable novel about a young woman finding her way back to herself - from the author of 2019's buzz debut What Red Was Rhianne expresses her inner world through line and colour. This summer, though, back home in the west country, she is seeking distraction in heat and noise. Art school in London has ripped away her confidence and sense of safety- better for now to be swept along by the hotel kitchen where she's working, where the pressure is high and the dangers are more obvious. Sharp knives. Hot plates. Little time to think. Her dad, Dominic, is concerned for Rhianne but relieved to have her close. Her step-mum, Melissa, is on alert, though trying to tread carefully. But then there's Callum, just across the chef's pass, with his controlled manner and intent gaze. There's attraction. There's everything that comes next. From the acclaimed author of What Red Was, The Orange Room is about the narrow line between passion and control, and an insidious kind of violence that is difficult to name. Asking what it means to see clearly, and what courage it takes to be seen, it is the story of a tenacious young woman who - through her art, her strength, her determination - finds her way back to herself.

Reviews

The Orange Room is a reminder that abusive relationships dont have to involve smashed glasses or black eyes. The deliberate diminishing of a partner, the dimming of their inner light, is something so many of us have either experienced or witnessed in a friend and Price reveals it, here, with tender care and quietly devastating accuracy * Observer *
As Rhianne navigates the pressures of work and relationships, particularly with a fellow chef, she begins to rediscover herself through her art. The novel explores themes of visibility, fear, and personal growth -- Pia Brynteson * Service 95 *
I read The Orange Room as if in a trance. Prices hypnotic prose is alive to the ways we navigate aloneness and connection, damage and repair. A beautifully observed, deeply humane novel. -- Marina Kemp
Subtly subversive, utterly memorable -- Helen Mort
Exploring sex and power in heteronormative relationships, Price builds a creeping sense of entrapment with delicate nuance. Unafraid to confront toxic power that can be simultaneously gross and seductive, the potency of The Orange Room lies in the space it gives to seemingly small interactions, much like in the real world where coercive behaviour is often quiet and incremental. Stunning -- Amy Beashel
A beautifully tender and intelligent exploration of trauma, recovery and desire. With elegant prose, pin-sharp observations and real, complex characters, The Orange Room is masterful. Rhianne, Melissa and Dominic will stay with me for a very long time. -- Sara Nisha Adams

Author Bio

Rosie Price is the author of the highly acclaimed debut What Red Was, an Observer New Voices selection. The Orange Room is her second novel. She lives in London.