Author:Mahsuda Snaith
BBC RADIO 4 'BOOK AT BEDTIME' PICK
‘Those who love Little Fires Everywhere and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will love this’ My Weekly
Molly has lived on the streets for nearly a decade. She has close friends but spends most of her nights sleeping rough in dangerous places. So when a new acquaintance invites her on a journey across the country, she decides to go along. He is searching for treasure while she is searching for hope.
At every stop on their unusual quest, Molly senses something close behind her: the footsteps of an old enemy and the memories of a life she has tried to erase. And yet she must find the courage to continue if she’s ever going to discover a place that really feels like home.
A vibrant, invigorating, and affecting novel and the inspiring portrait of a young homeless woman from Observer New Face of Fiction Mahsuda Snaith.
A rollicking road trip in the company of three endearingly infuriating characters . . . Those who loved Little Fires Everywhere or Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will love this realistic novel that more than lives up to this writer’s early promise.
—— My WeeklyBrilliant! Unflinchingly honest on the realities of being homeless but never loses hope, positivity or humour ... With beautiful characters who might be demonised in real life or in the media but who are humanised here. Everyone should read it!
—— Amanda Berriman, author of 'Home'An inspiring modern retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . . . Both invigorating and affecting, How to Find Home is an important tale for our times.
—— Vanity FairSparky and alive . . . I really cared about Molly
—— Maggie Gee, author of 'My Cleaner'An unflinching look at homelessness and people who have fallen through the rungs of life but the novel never loses its humanity, hope and humour
—— Sara Manning , RedMoving and delightful . . . I loved Molly and so wanted her to find home. Think The Wizard of Oz meets the street.
—— Astra BloomStrikingly vivid . . . A novel about what home means to the homeless. Immersive and intriguing . . . Rich and imaginative.
—— Culture FlyIn this offbeat, engaging, wryly humorous novel, loosely inspired by The Wizard of Oz, we meet strange, sad and colourful characters and learn that in the bleakest situations there is laughter, camaraderie and even love
—— Daily MailOne to watch
—— Inside SoapThe skilfully told story of a young woman struggling to find her place in intolerant, revolutionary Iran
—— iAn epic tale of turmoil in Iran. Its skilful blending of personal and political drama, along with its broad scope, richness of setting and vitality of character, gives it something of the quality of [Doctor Zhivago]
—— GuardianEpic in scope . . . Hozar is a courageous and talented writer, excellent at capturing emotional complexity and interrogating her themes
—— The Irish IndependentNazanine Hozar's stunning debut takes us inside the Iranian revolution - but seen like never before, through the eyes of an orphan girl . . . heart-pounding
—— Asia House ArtsAn impeccable debut of a young girl's odyssey in the Iranian Revolution
—— Foyles newsletterAn alluring and enlightening read
—— Irish TimesQuite remarkable… This book is equally ingenious [as her previous novels], if not more so… With each novel, Wyld gets better and better… A serious, serious writer.
—— Stuart Kelly , Scotland on SundayPowerful… unsettling… humorous and full of sharply observed vignettes.
—— IndependentThe Bass Rock is a gripping, moving insight into the age-old issue of toxic masculinity and the sixth sense that women have evolved to keep them safe.
—— Stephen McGinty , Sunday TimesEvie Wyld’s powerful new novel…[is] a feminine counterforce to the masculine violence that pulses viscerally throughout… No wonder Wyld’s rage erupts from the page as she bears witness to the women who fail to survive and searches for ways that others might.
—— Emily Rhodes , SpectatorEvie Wyld is one of our most exciting young writers and her latest book is being touted as her breakthrough. An epic novel.
—— MetroEvie Wyld…[is] one of our most distinctive and vital voices.
—— Stephanie Cross , Daily Mail, *Books to Look Our For in 2020*Wyld is the most stupendous of writers, daring, heartfelt, explosive. The Bass Rock reminds us of all her power and brilliance, it thrums with an anger it is impossible not to feel.
—— Daisy JohnsonThe Bass Rock is a multi-generational modern gothic triumph. It is spectacularly well-observed, profoundly disquieting and utterly riveting. Like all Evie Wyld's work it is startlingly insightful about psychological and physical abuse. It is a haunting, masterful novel.
—— Max PorterA brutal portrait of male violence, as unchanging down the centuries as the coastal rock of the title… Cleverly constructed, full of electric scene-making, and harnessing an eerie energy…the novel ends in hope.
—— Anthony Cummins , iEverything [Evie Wyld] has published has left me excited and slightly (very) envious of her ability… And then came The Bass Rock… Something extremely special… The book takes on an immense power. This is the best book of the #MeToo era… An absolute blinder.
—— Fran Slater , BookmunchVividly told and compelling… The Bass Rock is…beautifully written and powered by blistering force and righteous anger.
—— Alice O'Keefe , BooksellerEvie Wyld is exceptionally good at the gruesome… Her bewitching third novel…The Bass Rock is beautifully written and its particular brand of macabre is all Evie Wyld’s own. The tension, foreboding and sense of inevitability are hard to shake off, even once the final page is turned. Its atmosphere is so powerful that you feel you need to go for a walk afterwards.
—— Cressida Connolly , Literary ReviewA dark, gristly marvel of a novel. The Bass Rock held me in thrall from cover to cover. Evie Wyld is a gothic genius: her narrative of the violence inflicted on women throughout the centuries and the seething, female anger left in its wake left me with a deep sense of disquiet that will doubtless remain for years to come.
—— Hannah KentA fierce novel exploring the subjugation of – and violence against – women through the ages.
—— Hannah Beckerman , ObserverI savoured this wonderful novel; it is so extraordinarily clear-eyed and vivid, sharply disturbing yet deeply compassionate. What an amazing achievement.
—— Megan HunterWonderfully subtle and magnificently savage.
—— Claire FullerEvie Wyld's vivid, visceral writing has long been in a class of its own – and as beautiful as it is terrifying, as moral as it is furious, The Bass Rock is her at her unflinching best.
—— Melissa HarrisonAmazingly good. The Bass Rock will fill the air around you with angry ghosts and you will be glad in their company.
—— Adam FouldsWyld’s The Bass Rock is her third novel and best so far… this is Wyld’s masterpiece – as majestic and monumental as the landmark it’s named after.
—— Alex Preston , Observer, *Books to Look Our For in 2020*A bewitching and atmospheric novel, laced with dread. It reveals the haunted house of society, with its echoes of damaged and extinguished lives, but is also illuminated by beautiful observation about people, and their capacity for both violence and empathy.
—— James ScudamoreI loved The Bass Rock and found it menacing, sophisticated, magical and also very funny – the best book yet by a wonderful writer.
—— Anjali JosephEvie Wyld’s The Bass Rock sounds fascinating… Wyld has a luminous prose style, and to see how she copes with 300 years and Scottish doubleness (or tripleness) is high on my list of “to reads”.
—— Stuart Kelly , Scotland on SundayBeautifully written, [The Bass Rock] is a reminder of female folklore and the power of giving words to women.
—— Stylist *10 glorious new books to buy this March*Ambitious in scope… The physical atmosphere of the Bass Rock and its surroundings are wonderfully evoked… But it is the relationships between women in this tessellated work that triumph... I wholly recommend this book.
—— William Jolt , Tablet, *Novel of the Week*Wyld is often praised for her lyrical prose, and The Bass Rock is most certainly a continuation of this form.
—— Julie Vuong , Skinny[A] dark, beautiful and funny gothic family saga for the #MeToo generation… an atmospheric book that transports you within a few sentences… The tension is always building as the story takes on an otherworldly dimension.
—— Charlotte Cripps , IndependentThe Bass Rock is complex, rich, challenging… Like David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, The Bass Rock offers a universal history of subjugation and oppression… Violence…runs through the book like veins in marble… Vivid and gripping.
—— Irish TimesA gripping look at three women's stories across four centuries.
—— Joanne Finney , Good HousekeepingEvie Wyld’s passion for horror shines through in the setting of this novel.
—— Chiara Rimella , MonocleUtterly enthralling… [Wyld’s] eye for human foibles and idiosyncrasy is incredibly sharp, and this novel once again exhibits her bravura way with narrative structure… Dark, disturbing and very sophisticated.
—— William Boyd , Sunday Times[An] intensely absorbing gothic novel, which weaves together the fate of three women across three centuries. That it can also comfortably accommodate episodes of off-the-wall, Fleabag-esque hilarity confirms the acclaimed Wyld's brilliance.
—— Stephanie Cross , Daily Mail *Best of Summer Books*Wyld's thought-provoking plots separate this book from many others on the shelves... Wyld's three narratives are artfully crafted to suit the shifting time frames.
—— Scottish FieldWyld's ingeniously linked narratives weave a haunting tale of fear and defiance.
—— Jane Shilling , Daily MailA novel of such subtlety and hope
—— Ross Raisin, author of A NATURAL , Observer, *Summer Reads of 2022*