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Liepman Literary Agency
Marc Koralnik
Original language
English
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SEPARATION FOR BEGINNERS

Joe Portman

A refreshing, laugh-out-loud, feel-good novel about what happens when you let go of the past and make room for the unexpected later in life - for fans of Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare and Marian Keyes' Grown Ups.
There are millions of people who would be grateful - even thrilled - to start over. Pete Smith isn't one of them.

Pete's swearing is getting worse. What with the divorce, the debt, and the dying travel business, no one seems to need him anymore. Well, except for his 23-year-old daughter, who - jobless and unable to afford London rents - is moving back home.

Pete's delighted - he'll even put up with his daughter Susie's bothersome boyfriend, Niall, who struggles with the concept of personal space and only adds to Pete's neglected to-do list. But when Susie lands a job in Stockholm and flies the nest for good, Pete finds himself stuck with a flatmate he never signed up for - and out of excuses to hold onto the past.

One day he'll get around to fixing the lock on the bathroom door, figuring out what to do with his failing business, evicting his daughter's boyfriend from his house, and maybe even getting over his ex-wife...

But it turns out there are some things you can't put off until later - and some people who won't let you.

Tom Connolly (the author's real name) is the writer of two novels, THE SPIDER TRUCES and MEN LIKE AIR, which were published as literary fiction by Myriad, and were well received; the first longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, and shortlisted for the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award. He intends to keep writing literary fiction, while simultaneously he wants to write — under the name Joe Portman — a series of up-lit novels, and SEPARATION FOR BEGINNERS is the first of these.
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Published 2022-07-01 by Welbeck

Comments

‘A very fine, funny and moving read.'

‘Not only thought-provoking and moving but also extremely funny. It's guaranteed to make you laugh out loud.'

'Sharp-witted, self-deprecating and honest had me laughing from start to finish'

‘Connolly's magical coming-of-age novel is a fierce, humane and hazily poetic work.'

‘Funny and refreshingly complex.'

'I laughed. I cried. I loved it'

‘Bold, absorbing and very funny. Tom Connolly has a quiet brilliance.'

This warm-hearted comedy about unlikely flatmates had me laughing from start to finish. Divorced Pete's sharing his cramped Woking basement with daughter Susie and her slobby boyfriend Niall. When Susie moves abroad he's left, most reluctantly, with Niall. Pete's at rock bottom; missing his ex-wife, saddled with a failing business, conscious of a shrinking pool of friends and now stuck with an unwanted lodger. But there's more to Niall than meets the eye and as the odd couple become closer they both find the courage to tackle their problems. Sharp-witted self-deprecating and honest, this smart slice of modern life is man-lit at its best. Read more...

‘Lyrical, warm and moving, this impressive debut.'