Longlisted for The Women's Prize for Fiction 2019, The Republic of Consciousness Prize 2019 and The People's Book Prize 2018. 'Enjoyable to read' - Dolly Alderton, The High Low. When Alina's brother-in-law defects to the West, she and her husband become persons of interest to the secret services, causing both of their careers to come grinding to a halt. As the strain takes its toll on their marriage, Alina turns to her aunt for help - the wife of a communist leader and a secret practitioner of the old folk ways. Set in 1970s communist Romania, this novella-in-flash draws upon magic realism to weave a tale of everyday troubles that can't be put down. 'A story to savour, to smile at, to rage against and to weep over.' - Zoe Gilbert, author of 'Folk'
Sophie van Llewyn was born in south-eastern Romania. She has published and won awards for her flash fiction and short stories across the UK, Europe and the States. Bottled Goods is Sophie's debut long fiction work.
Title: Bottled Goods (Fairlight Moderns)
Author: van Llewyn, Sophie
ISBN: 9781912054305
Binding:
Publisher: Fairlight Books
Publication Date: 2018-07-11
Number of Pages: 190
Weight: 0.1400 kg
`An assured debut which is part-absurdist, part-thriller, part-social realism. If you're looking for intrigue, psychological depth and the darkly comic in a book that can be read in one hour, this is for you.' - Republic of Consciousness Prize 2019 judges; `this stunning historical novella [...] is both tense and atmospheric' - Mslexia; `The prose is tight, witty, vivid and atmospheric [...] Every word on the page pulls its weight' - Litro; 'Sophie van Llewyn's stunning debut novella shows us there is no dystopian fiction as frightening as that which draws on history.' - Christina Dalcher, author of 'VOX'; 'A story to savour, to smile at, to rage against and to weep over.' - Zoe Gilbert, author of 'Folk'; Lucid and powerfully affecting.' - Helen Rye, winner of the Bath Flash Fiction Award; 'A masterful blend of the political and the personal, the magical and the mundane, the historical and the hyperbolic.' - Ingrid Jendrzejewski, editor-in-chief of FlashBack Fiction; 'Sophie van Llewyn has brought light into an era which cast a long shadow.' - Joanna Campbell, author; 'The uncertainties of life and love, and the insatiable quest for freedom - bottled neatly in a set of stories that captivate and enchant.' - Michelle Elvy, coordinator of New Zealand's Flash Fiction Day and Bath Flash Fiction Award judge; 'The chapters are as brief and intense as flashes of lightning in a storm. So is van Llewyn's prose. . . . the novel is a strikingly original work. Taut, searing, and sharp, van Llewyn's novel is a lyrical jewel.' - Kirkus Reviews
