Novelist Luke Kennard

Many will know Luke Kennard for his fantastically funny and endearingly self-effacing poetry. His debut novel, The Transition, is everything one could expect from this supremely talented young writer, and more.

Set in the immediate future, the novel stars a couple lost in their early thirties who are forced to take part in a cutting edge social programme called The Transition. Billed as a means to enhance the lives of young couples who have fallen into trouble, there is something sinister about the dystopian headquarters of The Transition, and also about the too perfect staff with their too perfect smiles.

The novel is not simply social commentary, however. It simultaneously explores the impact of mental illness on a relationship – and the fear that comes with instability in a partner. This half of the narrative rings incredibly true, and is handled with extraordinary tenderness.

Luke Kennard is a wonderful reader and an uncommonly pleasant man, and The Transition is one of the best debut novels in recent memory. Please join us in the bookshop for what will definitely be one of the early highlights of 2017.