: Katie Allen
: Happy Is the One The poignant, life-affirming new novel from the author of Everything Happens for a Reason
: Orenda Books
: 9781916788121
: 1
: CHF 8.50
:
: Erzählende Literatur
: English
: 300
: Wasserzeichen
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
The carefully ordered life of a middle-aged man falls apart when he is forced to return to his hometown to care for his elderly father, and meets a woman who has as many secrets as he does ... A warmly funny, poignant, life-affirming novel about coming home and letting go. `A moving and emotional story told with warmth and humour ... a book to curl up with and forget about the world´ Eleanor Ray `A novel so full of heart it will pull on your heartstrings and nestle itself into your soul´ Emma-Claire Wilson `Gentle, poignant and often witty ... A beautifully written and intelligent novel about working out who and what really matters´ Susan Elliot Wright ______ What if halfway through your life was just the beginning? Robin Edmund Blake is halfway through his life. Born in 1986, when Halley's Comet crossed the sky, he is destined to go out with it, when it returns in 2061. Until that day, he can't die. He has proof. With his future mapped out in minute detail, a lucrative but increasingly dull job in the City of London, and Gemma to share his life with, Robin has a plan to be remembered forever. But when Robin's sick father has one accident too many, the plan starts to unravel. Robin must return home to the tiny seaside town of Eastgate, learn to care for the man who never really cared for him, and face the childhood ghosts he fled decades ago. Desperate to get his life back on schedule, he connects with fellow outsider Astrid. Brutally direct, sharp-witted and a professor at a nearby university, she's unlike anyone he's ever met. But Astrid is hiding something and someone from Robin. And he's hiding even more from her... For fans of Hazel Prior, Rachel Joyce and Jonas Jonasson ______ `Compassionate and insightful ... the whole novel is imbued with warmth and humour´ Gill Paul `A funny, heart-warming and unpredictable story of old friendships, new connections and fresh perspectives. I laughed, cried, and loved every minute of the ride with Robin´ Penny Haw `A supremely entertaining novel about the surprises and cruelties life can have in store, peopled with characters who never feel less than real´ Polis Loizou `Heartfelt, heartbreaking but also joyful ... a master storyteller´ Awais Khan Praise for Katie Allen `Heart-wrenching, warm and funny´ Guardian `Emotionally engaging, witty, clever and wonderfully satisfying´ Daily Express `Simultaneously devastating and hilarious´ Clare Allan `Heartbreaking, deeply moving and wonderfully witty´ Isabelle Broom `Darkly funny, yet poignant and moving´ Anna Bell `The writing reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant´ Becky Fleetwood `The perfect mix of clever, funny and intensely moving´ Cari Rosen

Everything Happens for a Reason is Katie's first novel. She used to be a journalist and columnist at the Guardian and Observer, and started her career as a Reuters correspondent in Berlin and London.The events in Everything Happens for a Reason are fiction, but the premise is loosely autobiographical. Katie's son, Finn, was stillborn in 2010, and her character's experience of grief and being on maternity leave without a baby is based on her own. And yes, someone did say to her 'Everything happens for a reason'.Katie grew up in Warwickshire and now lives in South London with her husband, children, dog, cat and stick insects. When she's not writing or walking children and dogs, Katie loves baking, playing the piano, reading news and wishing she had written other people's brilliant novels.

A small Kia is parked on the drive outside the bungalow. I’ll go in and introduce myself in a minute. Or maybe it’s a carer I already know. I need to catch the five o’clock news first. Someone’s been setting fire to celebrities’ cars and the police have promised an update.

The carer emerges as I’m getting out the car. She puts the front door key into the little safe box on the wall and only as she turns around does she notice me. She waves and I wave back.

‘Hi, I’m Robin. The son.’

‘Hi,’ she says. ‘Can you move back?’

‘Sorry?’

‘Your car. I won’t get round you.’

‘Sorry. Yes.’ I get back in, reverse, and she speeds off.

Not the best start, but not my fault. From what I can work out, the carers’ shifts are six hours’ pay for eight calls of forty-five minutes each. All travel is done on their own time. What’s even more sickening about the Staying Put agency is that it’s run by my old classmate Paul Rogers, a rugby player who never showed any flair for business studies nor understanding of demographics. Now he’s getting rich off the sweet cocktail of ageing homeowners and cheap labour.

‘I’m here, Dad,’ I announce from the front door. I knock my heels together and sand drops onto the mat.

The TV is playing to itself, quiet but not muted. Dad is in his chair. He’s thinner again. The flaps of skin around his neck are like the tree roots Gemma photographed from every angle at Angkor Wat.

‘There you are. Journey down was hard work. Need to unload the car, but let’s have a cup of tea first. Have you had the news on? He burned another one – Porsche, the guy off that morning show, on his drive, behind a locked gate, down the road from here.’ I babble and worry how much more there is to relay about the car arsonist. I need more topics. Time spent with Dad is time that needs scripting. ‘Anyway, good to see you, Dad. Exciting new chapter. And boys’ night every night, until Gemma gets here. I was thinking Chinese later, something with lots of sauce, or put yours in the blender.’ A liquefied version of normal.

The corners of his mouth twitch and I squeeze his hand. It’s the best his face will let him do. I watch him watch the TV and imagine what he’s saying in his head. It’ll be about the perfume advert that’s on