The Transition

(Paperback)

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Description

Black Mirror meets David Nicholls in this dark and funny novel about love in dystopian times

LONGLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE FOR FICTION
Karl has let his debts get wildly out of control and, in desperation, has sort of semi-accidentally committed credit-card fraud. Now he could have to go to prison, so when he and his wife Genevieve are instead offered a place on a mysterious self-improvement scheme called The Transition, they agree. Its only six months, after all, and at first all it requires is that they give up their credit cards and move into the spare room of their mentors, Janna and Stu, who seem perfectly lovely . . .

Reviews

The sort of book that cuts you off from your family and has you walking blindly through seven lanes of traffic with your face pressed obliviously to the page The Times

Luke Kennards wit and astonishing virtuosity, so present in his poetry, have safely made the journey to his beguiling first novel The Transition: very funny, gimlet-eyed observation William Boyd, Guardian best summer books 2018

Richly enjoyable . . . what really makes this novel stand out is not the Black Mirror-style black comedy but the tenderly devastating portrait of mental illness. The dystopia turns out to be a love story after all Guardian

Very funny, compassionate and scathing. Just the ticket for fans of Jonathan Coe Laline Paull

Terrific. Clever and funny and a total page-turner to boot Nathan Filer

'Disquieting and witty but with such tenderness at its core that it's often heart-stopping. Gorgeous stuff. I devoured it' Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies

Extremely smart and extremely funny, Luke Kennard's first novel is a brilliant dismantling of our corporatized century. It also features one of the most endearingly hapless heroes since Lucky Jim. In a world where everything real has been outsourced if it can't be demolished, a book like The Transition is not just a ray of light it's utterly vital Paul Murray, author of Skippy Dies

Essential reading for generation rent. Funny, necessary and all too close to the bone Jenn Ashworth, author of The Friday Gospels

Completely gripping a unique idea executed with verve, confidence and razor sharp wit Isy Suttie

Black Mirror with a lighter touch. A day-after-tomorrow novel that defines a generation Matthew De Abaitua, author of The Red Men

Author Bio

Luke Kennard is the author of five collections of poetry. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 2005 and wasshortlisted for the Forward Prize for BestCollection in 2007. He lectures at theUniversity of Birmingham. In 2014 hewas selected by the Poetry Book Societyas one of the Next Generation Poets. Hislatest poetry book, Cain, was publishedby Penned in the Margins in June 2016.The Transition is his first novel.