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A Novel
by Nathan Newman
It's Natwest's last day before he leaves for university, and there's only one thing on his mind: the deeply embarrassing package he ordered to his house—which still hasn't arrived. He won't leave town without it. Any alternative is too distressing to consider...
This is the story of twenty-four hours in the life of Natwest, and his small-town odyssey in pursuit of the missing package. And yet it's also the story of a middle-aged dentist who dreams of being a respected artist—but the only thing he can seem to paint is the human mouth. And it's the story of a tortured imam involved in a quasi-romantic entanglement with the local vicar; and an octogenerian mourning the death of her secretive husband; and a troubled teenager whose nudes have leaked on the internet. It's the story of Natwest's obnoxious ex-boyfriend, and his class-traitor mother and her childhood boyfriend, and the life-changing secrets he knows about Natwest's past.
Alternating between Natwest's idiosyncratic inner world and the perspectives of the other characters—and dazzling in its energy, imagination and originality—this is an outrageously funny and tenderly moving story about being connected to everyone and everything at all times; about love, friendship, and the lies we tell ourselves; about unhappy endings, happy endings—and whether anything really is as simple as one or the other.
"Newman weaves the analytical and the absurd with a raucous grace...How to Leave the House is generous and witty, as bewitched by aesthetics as it is certain of the virtues of good old-fashioned compassion...Profound—and profoundly sidesplitting." —The New York Times
"Newman's entertaining debut feels fresh and young, portraying modern life with a mixture of humor and reflection." —The Washington Post
"Raucous... smart and funny, Newman's debut is a refreshing take on juvenilia and the enduring potency of art discourse." —Kirkus Reviews
"Newman debuts with a witty and endearing mosaic novel…The situations are enjoyably farcical, but there's also depth to them, as Newman delves into their characters' hidden passions and shows how they grapple with their self-defeating choices. This raucous adventure is great fun." —Publishers Weekly
"How to Leave the House is gobby, barbed, and garrulous; a novel that takes swings, with swagger." —Eley Williams, author of The Liar's Dictionary
"Most books that claim to be funny aren't actually all that funny. How to Leave the House is a rare exception – genuinely hilarious, utterly obnoxious, impressively daring." —Keiran Goddard, author of Hourglass
This information about How to Leave the House was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Nathan Newman is a novelist and filmmaker based in London. Their short stories have won awards and been published in literary journals and anthologies. Their debut novel is due to be published by Little Brown in the UK, and Viking Penguin in the USA. A television adaptation of How to Leave the House is being developed by Freemantle, with Nathan set to write all the episodes.
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