Anne Enright & David Nicholls

Anne Enright’s The Wren The Wren is a meditation on love: spiritual, romantic, darkly sexual or genetic. A generational saga that traces the inheritance not just of trauma but also of wonder, it is a testament to the glorious resilience of women in the face of promises false and true. Above all, it is an exploration of the love between mother and daughter – sometimes fierce, often painful, but always transcendent.

Nell –  funny, brave and so much loved – is a young woman with adventure on her mind. As she sets out into the world, she finds her family history hard to escape. For her mother, Carmel, Nell’s leaving home opens a space in her heart, where the turmoil of a lifetime begins to churn. And across the generations falls the long shadow of Carmel’s famous father, an Irish poet of beautiful words and brutal actions.

David Nicholls is one of the best and most beloved writers in the English language, he can be laugh-out-loud funny and devastatingly moving on the same page. You Are Here is a love story which unfolds on a walk across the north of England; ten days through the Lakes, the Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors. It’s the story of two lonely people, Michael and Marnie, both a little lost. But, over many miles, as they start to talk and share stories, the possibility of a new beginning opens up before them. It is a story of first encounters, second chances and finding the way home. You Are Here is David Nicholls at his very best: witty, unexpected, thoughtful, perfectly attuned to the motions of the human heart – and written in effortless, stunning prose.