Home
/
Fiction
/
Drift
Drift
Dec 2, 2025 11:42 PM

Author:Caryl Lewis

Drift

**WINNER OF THE WALES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023**

**WATERSTONES WELSH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022**

'Truly beautiful and haunting, and an incredible feat of storytelling' DONAL RYAN

'A tender, unusual and gorgeously wrought love story' RACHEL JOYCE

'In times of war, Lewis finds resilience, redemption and hope...DRIFT feels perfectly judged' OBSERVER

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEBUT FROM THREE-TIME WINNER OF WALES BOOK OF THE YEAR CARYL LEWIS: A STORY OF LOVE, MAGIC AND THE IRRESISTIBLE LURE OF THE SEA.

Nefyn has always been an enigma, even to her brother Joseph with whom she lives in a small cottage above a blustery cove.

Hamza is a Syrian mapmaker, incarcerated in a military base a few miles up the coast.

A violent storm will bring these two lost souls together - but other forces will soon try to tear them apart...

Moving between the wild Welsh coast and war-torn Syria, Drift is a love story with a difference, a hypnotic tale of lost identity, the quest for home and the wondrous resilience of the human spirit.

'A truly magical and transformative novel. I loved it.' KIRSTY CAPES, author of CARELESS

Reviews

A truly beautiful and haunting novel, and an incredible feat of storytelling

—— DONAL RYAN

A tender, unusual and gorgeously wrought love story that weaves the magic of folk lore, the wonder of the sea, and the depths of human cruelty. It moves between the worlds it inhabits like the finest piece of driftwood.

—— RACHEL JOYCE

In times of war, Lewis finds resilience, redemption and hope...DRIFT feels perfectly judged

—— OBSERVER

Captivating from the off

—— Huw Stephens, BBC Front Row

A truly magical and transformative novel. I loved it.

—— Kirsty Capes

Original and timely... [shows] the resilience of the human spirit, the tenacity and love that helps us survive.

—— IRISH TIMES

A heart-wrenching, all at sea read -- you are going to want this on your radar.

—— ERICKA WALLER

Delightful, ingenious and convincing… Anyone who values good writing and the intelligent observation and depiction of how people feel, think and speak will enjoy it too

—— Allan Massie , Scotsman

There is much of Tyler's trademark wit and sharp observation here. She shifts effortlessly from humour to pathos and creates emotion without any hint of sentimentality ... Funny and poignant

—— Charlotte Heathcote , Sunday Express

Full of Tyler's signature virtues -- domestic details, familial conflict, emotional ambivalence, a sharp sense of place… Novels such as Anne Tyler’s, which are so precise and current, are like photographs or digital clock faces that tell us where we are and where we are coming from at the same time. Vinegar Girl is an earthy reflection of this fleeting moment, both lively and thoughtful

—— Jane Smiley , New York Times Book Review

An enjoyable read and it’s always a pleasure to read her writing.

—— Woman's Way

A sweet love story… The conversations are the best bits.

—— Claire Harman , Evening Standard

Excellent

—— Glamour

Tyler’s talents are lavish, and the novel has plenty of incidental pleasures.

—— James Walton , Daily Telegraph

Everyone from Margaret Atwood to Howard Jacobson is reimagining Shakespeare in fiction this year. Tyler’s take on The Taming of the Shrew looks to be the highlight

—— Andrew Holgate , Sunday Times

With her sharp eye for family dynamics and telling domestic detail, Pultizer winning Tyler is the perfect match for The Taming of the Shrew… With Tyler’s typical warmth and humour, and her knack for creating endearingly quirky characters, the result is believable, moving and entertaining.

—— Lady

A sprightly reprise of [The Taming of the Shrew].

—— Eithne Farry , Simple Things, Book of the Year

Entertaining and Unpredictable.

—— Irish Mail on Sunday, Book of the Year

A sweetly rendered, thoroughly modern love story.

—— Guardian, Book of the Year

Acutely observed and warmly entertaining.

—— William Leith , Evening Standard

Warmly entertaining

—— i

A bittersweet comedy with some stinging contemporary resonance… Acutely observed and quirkily humorous… light but intelligent.

—— Juanita Coulson , Lady

With Tyler’s typical warmth and humour, and her knack for creating endearingly quirky characters, the result is believable, moving and entertaining.

—— The Lady

Witty, inspiring and a joy

—— I-NEWSPAPER

Feminism is the catalyst that makes [Lessons in Chemistry] fizz like hydrochloric acid on limestone. Elizabeth Zott does not have 'moxie'; she has courage. She is not a 'girl boss' or a 'lady chemist'; she's a groundbreaker and an expert in abiogenesis. . . To file Elizabeth Zott among the pink razors of the book world is to miss the sharpness of Garmus's message. Lessons in Chemistry will make you wonder about all the real-life women born ahead of their time - women who were sidelined, ignored and worse because they weren't as resourceful, determined and lucky as Elizabeth Zott. She's a reminder of how far we've come, but also how far we still have to go

—— NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Lessons in Chemistry is a breath of fresh air - a witty, propulsive, and refreshingly hopeful novel populated with singular characters. This book is an utter delight - wry, warm and compulsively readable

—— CLAIRE LOMBARDO, author of THE MOST FUN WE EVER HAD

A proper page turner which really made me giggle. It's so dry. The humour has a gorgeous lightness of touch. I really enjoyed it

—— STEVE WRIGHT, BBC RADIO TWO BOOK CLUB

Original, fresh, tender, funny and warm. The story dances and swirls, captivating the reader from the first page. Elizabeth Zott is the most wonderful character. Just fantastic

—— SINEAD MORIARTY

Strikingly relevant. . . Darkly funny and poignant. . . Lessons in Chemistry's excellent experiment is quirky and heartwarming

—— THE ATLANTIC

A funny, thought-provoking revenge story. Elizabeth Zott is ahead of her time. This is such a great book, everyone should read it!

—— SHAPARAK KHORSANDI

Garmus has made feminism not just palpable, but delicious

—— I-NEWS

A truly involving and uplifting book! Bonnie Garmus addresses serious topics with humour that is genuinely funny. I especially liked the dog. Mine only appears to know one word, which is 'supper', but there again she is a Labrador. I'm sure this is going to be a great success, and deserves to be

—— ANNE YOUNGSON, Costa Book Award-shortlisted author of MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM

This incredible novel has EVERYTHING - an unforgettable heroine, wry humour, love, family and bucketloads of optimism and female empowerment. It's WONDERFUL

—— HANNAH BECKERMAN

An energetic debut ... A more adorable plea for rationalism and gender equality would be hard to find

—— KIRKUS (starred review)

Bold, smart and often hilarious look at so-called women's work

—— REAL SIMPLE, US

Charming and emboldening tale with a vintage sheen... A thoroughly entertaining and emboldened look at gender in the 1960s. A must read!

—— MAGIC RADIO, BOOK CLUB READ

Garmus delivers an assured voice, an indelible heroine and relatable love stories

—— WASHINGTON POST

Elizabeth is a woman who challenges the norms of a woman in the 60s...her perseverance to succeed is enthralling. The fight to do what she really wants, and that alone, is one that'll have you rooting for her throughout

—— STYLIST

Indefatigable and formidable, Elizabeth pushes the bounds of how women and their work are perceived in this thoroughly engaging debut novel

—— BOOKLIST

A kicky debut, this book tackles feminism, resilience, and rationalism in a fun and refreshing way

—— BUZZFEED

Every bit as brilliant as everyone is saying. Funny, clever, full of heart and wonderful characters. I loved it

—— A J PEARCE

Unforgettable ... Elizabeth Zott is intelligent, fearless, determined and utterly inspiring

—— CULTUREFLY

An absolute delight. Zott is a cracking protagonist - strikingly single-minded, socially awkward, fiercely determined to forge her own path

—— FINANCIAL TIMES, Best Audio Books

Witty, fast-paced and unabashedly amusing' Lessons in Chemistry is 'written with charm, verve and piercing insight ... a future classic

—— LITERARY REVIEW

The best book I've read recently. I loved it

—— SARA COX, BBC 2 Between the Covers

I loved it. You don't want to finish it. You don't want to put it down. It's wonderful to hear a voice that has total honesty and clarity. I love that Elizabeth Zott is funny and hasn't got a clue that she's funny

—— DEBORAH MEADEN, BBC 2 BETWEEN THE COVERS

I loved everything about it. There were so many things I could relate to

—— STEPHEN BAILEY, BBC 2 BETWEEN THE COVERS

i couldn't put it down. It was so easy to read: hilarious, heartfelt. With all of the issues that we are still dealing with right now. Heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure

—— SUKH OJLA

Laugh-aloud funny, witty and provocative, LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY recreates the rampant sexism of America just before Betty Friedan's THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE and the bonfire of the bras

—— THE TIMES, audiobook of the week

A funny, big-hearted read

—— THE TIMES, Summer Reading Choice

I adored this confident, witty portrait of an unforgettable woman and her time

—— DAILY MAIL, Summer reading recommendations

One of the smartest and funniest novels to appear this year

—— THE NEW EUROPEAN

We guarantee you will love this charming debut

—— HELLO MAGAZINE

This smart, uproarious, emotional page-turner...has been the year's runaway hit. Rightly so

—— SUNDAY TIMES, Books of the Year

Irresistible, a gorgeous tribute to resilience and the many types of love that sustain us

—— OPRAH DAILY

Sharp and deliciously readable. Brings bite as well as charm to the tale of a super-rational scientist navigating sexism in early 60s America.

—— GUARDIAN, Books of the Year

The idiosyncratic wit of this year's blockbuster debut is instantly appealing, but it's also a narrative with real bite. Uplifting and irresistibly zany

—— THE MAIL, Books of the Year

I fell for Elizabeth Zott immediately. A wonderfully entertaining and empowering read

—— GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, Books of the Year

A wonderful novel - polished, pacy, funny, witty, warm, life-affirming, and thought-provoking

—— SUNDAY MAIL, SCOTLAND

Witty and sometimes hilarious. The CATCH-22 of early feminism

—— STEPHEN KING

Enchanting, clever, funny and packed with deeply engaging characters. I still think about it a lot

—— INDIA KNIGHT's Book of the Year, SUNDAY TIMES

As with all the best stories, there is a timelessness to this book. One senses it will be read in ten or twenty years' time

—— IRISH TIMES

Biting and cheering in exactly the right measure

—— JOJO MOYES

The TV cook bit hooked me right in and it did not disappoint. This book is Charming, witty and clever

—— NADIYA HUSSAIN
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved