Common Ground
On sale
25th March 2021
Price: £16.99
*An Evening Standard Must Read, Grazia Best Book of 2021 and Independent Debut Not to Miss*
‘Beautifully written, this is a book of real hope and connection’ Stylist
A bittersweet story of coming-of-age in a divided world, in the tradition of TIN MAN or BLACK SWAN GREEN.
It’s a lonely life for Stan, at a new school that feels more ordeal than fresh start, and at home where he and his mother struggle to break the silence after his father’s death. When he encounters fearless, clever Charlie on the local common, all of that begins to change. Charlie’s curiosity is infectious, and it is Charlie who teaches Stan, for the first time, to stand on his own two feet. But will their unit of two be strong enough to endure in a world that offers these boys such different prospects?
The pair part ways, until their paths cross once again, as adults in London. Now Stan is revelling in all that the city has to offer, while Charlie seems to have hit a brick wall. He needs Stan’s help, and above all his friendship, but is Stan really there for the man who once showed him the meaning of loyalty?
‘Beautifully written, this is a book of real hope and connection’ Stylist
A bittersweet story of coming-of-age in a divided world, in the tradition of TIN MAN or BLACK SWAN GREEN.
It’s a lonely life for Stan, at a new school that feels more ordeal than fresh start, and at home where he and his mother struggle to break the silence after his father’s death. When he encounters fearless, clever Charlie on the local common, all of that begins to change. Charlie’s curiosity is infectious, and it is Charlie who teaches Stan, for the first time, to stand on his own two feet. But will their unit of two be strong enough to endure in a world that offers these boys such different prospects?
The pair part ways, until their paths cross once again, as adults in London. Now Stan is revelling in all that the city has to offer, while Charlie seems to have hit a brick wall. He needs Stan’s help, and above all his friendship, but is Stan really there for the man who once showed him the meaning of loyalty?
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Reviews
An attentive and considered tribute to friendship, reminding us that, for all our human messiness, to have a friend is to enter an enduring pact to face the world together
Tender but never sentimental, COMMON GROUND is a glorious novel about friendship, prejudice and injustice, which exposes the common threads that bind us together
Long after finishing, Charlie and Stan refuse to be forgotten. I couldn't put this one down
A heartfelt, moving depiction of growing up in a complex world together. A joy to read
A generous and disarming tale of loyalty, injustice and hope
Tender and savvy... engrossingly old fashioned
I loved it. When so many of us are missing friends and feeling isolated, this novel feels like balm on a wound
A timely and bittersweet novel, full of hope
A bittersweet perspective on the importance of friendship across cultural lines and a magnified glimpse into some of Britain's most glaring social issues
Immersive... here is a writer whose imagination is propelled by compassion, but who underpins her fiction with steely realism
I adored this book. Quietly stole my heart, and the ending was breathtaking., It left me with so much to think about. A beautiful novel
Her writing is so brilliant
Captured our imagination from the outset... thought-provoking, and beautifully observed
A heartwarming tale of a passionate and beautiful friendship