Out of Breath

(Paperback)

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Description

A story told by a young girl featuring a cast of children left to make their own world. 'Myerson at her best' - The Times Flynn is a thirteen-year-old girl caught between her violent, out-of-control brother, Sam, and her mother, who is struggling to cope. And then, one impossibly hot night, a strange half-feral boy called Alex turns up at the bottom of Flynn's garden. Alex is one of three runaways; there's also Diana, who has just had a baby, and Mouse, who is only six and already an accomplished arsonist. With Flynn and Sam in tow, the rag tag group of children venture into the deserted countryside, pursued by a terrifying and unseen man. Deep in the woods, they stumble across an abandoned cottage which seems to offer refuge but soon begins to reveal its dark and terrifying secrets...

Reviews

A sweetly corrupt exploration of the childhood fantasy of running away... Myerson is a beautiful conjurer of subtly disturbing atmospheres...haunting -- Jane Shilling * Sunday Telegraph *
A mythical rite-of-passage novel... mysterious and multi-layered * Independent *
Compulsively readable and richly inventive... bittersweet, authentic and loveable * Guardian *
Myerson is a surefooted guide along the wobbly line that separates the real from the surreal ... Myerson captures [adolescence] beautifully in Flynn's compelling voice. The opening of the novel is crisp and immediate, the prose simple and direct ...More than just a coming-of-age story, Out of Breath is a timely reminder about the importance of not growing up too quickly * New Statesman *
A truly original read, transcending many of the usual boundaries found in fiction * Scotland on Sunday *

Author Bio

Julie Myerson is the author of Home: The Story of Everyone Who Ever Lived in Our House and nine novels, including the best-selling Something Might Happen, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize. In the words of the Observer, she 'has a talent for making the unthinkable readable. The results are riveting.'