A major poet's fiction debut; a childhood not of screams but silence; a sensuous edge-of-danger tone, a la Deborah Levy

Shortlisted for the 2022 Goldsmiths Prize

Shortlisted for the 2022 Jhalak Prize

Longlisted for the 2022 Republic of Consciousness Prize

Longlisted for the 2022 Desmond Elliott Prize

A teacher asked me a question, and
I opened my mouth as a sort of formality but closed it softly, knowing with
perfect certainty that nothing would ever come out again.

Ruby gives up talking at a young age. Her mother isn’t always there to notice; she comes and goes and goes and comes, until, one day, she doesn’t. Silence becomes Ruby’s refuge, sheltering her from the weather of her mother’s mental illness and a pressurized suburban atmosphere.

Plangent, deft, and sparkling with wry humour, Somebody Loves You is a moving exploration of how we choose or refuse to tell the stories that shape us.