BRAT

‘Full of dark, deadpan humour, Brat is a raucous story of the messy, messed-up business of living, dying and having a family.’ Financial Times

 
‘A moving coming-of-age family story’ Observer
 
 


'Iconic', Radio 1

I was in the waiting room. Then I was in the examination
room.
 
Gabriel’s skin is falling off.
 
His dad is dead.
 
He owes his editor a novel.
 
His girlfriend won’t answer his calls.
 
Tasked by his horribly well-adjusted brother with clearing out the family home for sale, Gabriel’s sanity quickly begins to unravel. His parents’ old manuscripts appear to change each time he reads them. A bizarre home video hints at long-buried secrets. And there’s a hideous man in the garden.

Disquieting and hilarious, taut yet lyrical, blisteringly-paced but formally inventive, Brat is a mediation on grief, art and love that will leave you altered, breathless and desperate for more. 
 
From a stunningly original new talent, this is a debut novel unlike anything you have read before. 

‘This original, clever story is brilliant on grief, madness and creativity. It’s beautifully written, hilarious and heart-breaking. I raced through it.’ Daily Mail

​‘For readers looking for something that will grip you from start to finish, Brat is sure to be your breath of fresh air. The novel crackles with gothic horror, deadpan humor, and a damning sense of alienation that you won’t soon shake.’ Chicago Review of Books
 
‘Smith's picaresque first novel is told from the perspective of Gabriel, a writer struggling with numerous issues . . . a deeply gothic work that never quite settles the reader in a certain world as Gabriel’s foibles, ghostly visions, and uncertainties filter every moment. Written in short, clipped chapters and featuring uproarious dialogue (especially with Gabriel's brother), this is a darkly comic and brilliantly unusual debut.’ Booklist

‘[Smith's] dialogue shines . . . Readers who appreciate the morbidly funny and the just plain morbid will find a lot to love in these pages. A weird and darkly funny novel from a writer to...