When the Lights Go Out

When the Lights Go Out is a novel about hope and how to find it in difficult times. It follows the Abrams family as they navigate global temperatures rising, a cooling climate in their marriage, and the unexpected arrival of Chris's mother. Emma longs to lower a rope and winch Chris from his worries, but he doesn't want to be rescued or reassured. The book is darkly funny and beautifully written, and it explores the intricacies of family life in ways that have readers laughing one moment and biting their nails with worry the next. It is a timely and deeply human novel that takes us right into the heart of a marriage and grapples with the most crucial issue of our age.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 12 November 2020
Publisher: Cornerstone

This is a powerful and truthful story about hope and how to find it.

THE TIMES
Wry, beautifully written . . . it works on many levels.

DAILY MAIL
Bray's satire shines with observation and subtlety.

GUARDIAN
She writes with a quiet formidable brilliance. Her observations on relationships are acute, painful and extremely funny. This is a gem of a book.

EMILY MAITLIS

Global temperatures are rising.

The climate of the Abrams marriage is cooling.

Emma is beginning to wonder whether relationships, like mortgages, should be conducted in five-year increments. She might laugh if Chris had bought a motorbike or started dyeing his hair. Instead, he's buying off-label medicines and stockpiling food.

Chris finds Emma's relentless optimism exasperating. A tot of dread, a nip of horror, a shot of anger – he isn't asking much. If she would only join him in a measure of something.

The family's precarious eco-system is further disrupted by torrential rains, power cuts and the unexpected arrival of Chris's mother. Emma longs to lower a rope and winch Chris from the pit of his worries. But he doesn't want to be rescued or reassured – he wants to pull her in after him.

Darkly funny and beautifully written, When the Lights Go Out is a novel for our times: a story about cultivating hope and weathering change.

_________________________

So timely, and so deeply human, a novel which takes us right into the heart of a marriage and at the same time grapples with the most crucial issue of our age. It's bursting with compassion and wisdom.

SHELLEY HARRIS, author of JUBILEE

Through exquisite use of language and observation, she examines the intricacies of family life in ways which have you laughing out loud and reaching for the tissues.

Weight: 442g
Dimension: 147 x 223 x 36 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781786332349