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How to Survive Everything

Ewan Morrison author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Saraband

Published:1st Mar '21

Should be back in stock very soon

How to Survive Everything cover

From a multi-award-winning author whose 2019 novel Nina X was awarded the Saltire Society Scottish Fiction award, and is currently being developed as a feature film; A satire - of 'fake news', preppers, family, and global political conspiracy - hidden within an electrifying thriller; A timely focus on individual psychology, mental health, parenting, propaganda and international disasters - tackling some of the huge political questions of our time.

Haley and Ben's father, with inside knowledge of a new and deadly pandemic, kidnaps them and takes them to his prepper compound for their own safety. They have no contact with the outside world and face deeply conflicting views of reality with no reliable source of news. Will they survive, save their mother, deter intruders and keep everyone safe?"One of the most provocative, intelligent and original novelists working in Britain today." Irvine Welsh. My dad taught us to be prepared for whatever was coming. He said we should know the facts about how long we could survive without food, water or fresh air, and to remember that we couldn't live at all without hope. It was better, he said, to be ahead of the game. Better to be ten years too early than one minute too late. That's why he did what he did, on that morning ... Inspired by her father's advance planning and her own ingenuity and courage, this is one teenage girl's survival guide for navigating life under a new, even more deadly pandemic from the confines of a prepper compound. Will she ride out the collapse of everything she knows, and how can she save her family - and sanity?

"I wasn’t sure there could be a great pandemic novel. Here it is." Ian Rankin; “One of the most provocative, intelligent and original novelists working in Britain today.” Irvine Welsh; “A terrific and gripping story… a masterclass in storytelling … echoes of Salinger’s Holden Caulfield … Haley is a triumph … often very funny … It’s unusual for a dystopian novel to be rich in humanity, but this one is. … Morrison has been recognized as the best or certainly most interesting Scottish novelist of his generation, and this is the best book he has yet written.” Alan Massie, The Scotsman; “A complex, thought-provoking drama about fake news, real fears and frayed family ties … both exciting and terrifying … a bold and compelling book by a writer whose creative risks continue to pay huge dividends.” Malcom Forbes, Herald; "Urgent and exciting, harnessing our current global anxiety with a beautifully observed family drama." Atom Egoyan; “Terrifying … a terrifically written thriller that puts a very contemporary dysfunctional family at the heart of a very contemporary dystopian reality.” Lynda Obst, Producer of Interstellar; “How To Survive Everything is a gritty and (tragically) cool novel. The collision of a broken family and a global pandemic, it reads as a survival guide and feels like (is) a warning.” David Shields; “A riot to read … occasionally extremely funny. The plot twists and turns at a spanking pace.” Charlotte Metcalf, Breakout Culture; “Acutely realised and perfectly pitched … poignant, heart-rending and hilarious … This is a beautiful book in many ways … an exploration of love in all its guises, emerging, enduring, failed, set against an all too real dystopian setting, full of broken people trying to endure. Highly recommended.” The Literary Shed; “One of our best living authors, his voice is unique, his style is magnificent and his imagination knows no bounds … Terrifying and harrowing, yet also deeply touching … Most certainly a novel of our time. One that will stay with me, and haunt me.” Anne Cater, Random Things Through My Letterbox; Praise for Nina X; "Sensational. Like nothing I've ever read. A tour de force" Ian Rankin; "Chilling. Compelling" Lionel Shriver; "An amazing book. There are few writers left in Britain who have his ambition, vision and empathy. Nina is marvellous creation and this is an important novel" Irvine Welsh; "Brilliant, funny, clever, inspired, really powerful and also moving. A literary tour de force." Fay Weldon; "Literary gold...Morrison has published his masterpiece." Sunday Times; "Convincing, moving and successful. It is also extremely funny... [Nina X explores] the boundaries of the self, the clash between extremes of historical attempts at collectivism and the hyper-individualism of contemporary society . . . It's Nina's voice...that really sets this book apart, as Morrison seeks to represent the deep traumas of Nina's upbringing.... Morrison asks us to examine what is meant by freedom and how not all forms of control are visible" Observer (Book of the Day); "Darkly, heartbreakingly funny, Nina X is an assured new work from an author writing with a justified confidence." The Irish Times; "The narrative voice in Nina X is an absolute triumph - completely unique and yet empathetic and familiar at the same time...At heart, this is an emotional story about trauma and survival, but it's funny along the way too... A wonderful, disturbing, brilliant book." The Big Issue; "A parable for our times. His most brutal and innovative novel. Challenging, horrific and visceral. Most importantly, apart from being humane and experimental, it is also deeply, deeply serious. Judges of Prizes, take note" Scotland on Sunday; "Nina's story hit me hard; both her ignorance and deprivation whilst isolated from the outside world and the shock of being exposed to it as an adult were brilliantly and movingly depicted. I am rarely convinced or comfortable with men portraying intimate female experience but this was handled with insight and sensitivity." The Literary Sofa; "An absorbing novel about a woman growing up in a Maoist cult." Choice; "Extraordinary ... harrowing ... bleak, but the light just pours in at the end." Tim Minchin

  • Long-listed for McIlvanney Prize 2021 (UK)
  • Long-listed for Bookmark Festival Book of the Year 2021

ISBN: 9781913393151

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

384 pages

International