Back Trouble

'A funny and moving story with a great deal of style' Sunday Telegraph

From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021

On the brink of forty, newly single with a failed business, Philip thought he'd reached an all-time low.

It only needed a discarded chip on a South London street to lay him literally flat.

From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021

On the brink of forty, newly single with a failed business, Philip thought he'd reached an all-time low.

It only needed a discarded chip on a South London street to lay him literally flat. So, bedbound and bored, Philip naturally starts to write the story of his life.

But between the mundane catalogue of seaside holidays and bodged DIY, broken relationships and unspoken truths, more surprises are revealed, both comic and touching, than Philip or his family ever bargained for. Even, perhaps, a happy ending...

Praise for Clare Chambers:

'Smart, astute, and very funny' Daily Mail

'Gorgeous... If you're looking for something escapist and bittersweet, I could not recommend more' Pandora Sykes on SMALL PLEASURES

'Chambers' eye for undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity' Guardian

'A funny and moving story with a great deal of style' Daily Express