Author:Karl Ove Knausgaard,Vanessa Baird,Ingvild Burkey
The Sunday Times bestseller from literary phenomenon Karl Ove Knausgaard, a love letter about the world written by a father to his unborn daughter.
'Inspiring, surprising... Autumn will warm and enlighten anyone who opens their eyes to it' The Times
Autumn begins with a letter Karl Ove Knausgaard writes to his unborn daughter. He adds one short piece each day, describing the material and natural world - from twilight to the migration of birds, from Van Gogh to forgiveness - with the precision and mesmerising intensity that have become his trademark.
With artwork by Vanessa Baird
'This book is full of wonders... The world feels repainted' New York Times
Diverse and delightful… These sharp little essays capture the wonder of things with photographic immediacy… This is an inspiring, surprising collection
—— The TimesBrilliantly conveys the sense you get, as a prospective parent, that the world is brand new… It’s all beautifully done.
—— William Leith , Evening StandardIn Autumn, a lyrical cabaret beside the grand opera of the My Struggle books, taboo memories and forbidden feelings disrupt the grown-up project of a compendium of fatherly wisdom... Autumn glows with a radiant attachment to 'the world, as it is'... From sunshine to head-lice, it celebrates the 'dizzying intensity of being'.
—— The EconomistQuietly illuminates Knausgaard's profound gift for making the reader see the world in fresh and unpredictable ways.
—— Stuart Evers , The ObserverThis book is full of wonders… Loose teeth, chewing gum, it all becomes noble, almost holy, under Knausgaard’s patient, admiring gaze. The world feels repainted.
—— Parul Sehgal , New York TimesAutumn… returns to the scintillating tangent that characterized the early volumes of My Struggle, when he still allowed his midlife self airtime. On each subject [Knausgaard] combines an almost comically microscopic focus with a stealthy flair for producing a bigger picture that is all the more arresting for arriving by surprise.
—— Anthony Cummins , Daily TelegraphIt is when elements of autobiography creep in that the book comes most alive, as when he writes about choosing his father’s wellington boots as a memento after his death.
—— Jake Kerridge , Daily TelegraphKnausgaard writes about the textures of ordinariness with a microscopic focus that’s both wondrous and absurd… There are blissful glimpses of nature’s mystery and balance.
—— Henry Hitchings , Financial TimesHaving given us his saga of experience, these are Knausgaard’s Songs of Innocence… The tension for the reader lies in watching the author navigate his way from the banal into the celestial otherness of the thing he is encountering… Knausgaard sees the world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower.
—— Frances Wilson , Times Literary Supplement…the modest ambitions of Autumn - ‘to show you our world as it is now: the door, the floor, the water tap’ - add up to a phenomenological rescue mission, one the writer undertakes on behalf of his daughter, but also of himself and his reader. Day by day, radiantly, the mission succeeds.
—— Garth Risk Hallberg , The New York Times Book ReviewThere are gorgeous, poetic observations on almost every page.
—— Marina Benjamin , New StatesmanKnausgaard’s sentences, as long as waves, use the plainest, least literary language. You paddle out unsuspecting. This is easy, you think, striking out. But Knausgaard writes by undertow. Turn round and you are alone, far out in the drowning solitudes… It is truly hopeful and this, for Knausgaard, is a departure.
—— Laura Beatty , OldieTaking the old repetitive elements of life, Knausgaard’s detailed observations open our eyes to their unexpected yet remarkable qualities.
—— Kathleen McNamee , Irish TimesIn these secular meditations, Knausgaard scratches away at the ordinary to reach the sublime – finding what’s in the picture, and what’s hidden
—— Rodney Welch , Washington PostKnausgaard is an acute, sometimes squirmingly honest analyst of domesticity and his relationship to his family.
—— Lisa Schwarzbaum , Newsweek EuropeAvni Doshi quietly, cleanly, slices through the heart... Impeccably insightful, carved from love, rage, and grief, here all embellishment is discarded, all artifice shorn - motherhood, family, memory, language - to reveal something devastating about our relationships, with ourselves and with those closest to us
—— Janice Pariat, author of 'The Nine-Chambered Heart'A brilliant debut, about mothers and daughters, that manages be acerbic and brittle all at the same time
—— Nikesh Shukla, editor of 'The Good Immigrant'A courageous novel written in spare, gleaming sentences. It made me hold my breath and gather it up again
—— Tishani Doshi, author of 'Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods'Beautifully grotesque, vivid, unexpected. Doshi knows her characters so intimately I felt I could reach out and touch the skin they're in
—— Diksha Basu, author of 'The Windfall'Crystalline, surgical, compulsively readable. An examination of toxic relationships and the ties that bind us
—— Sharlene Teo, author of 'Ponti'A disturbing tale of memory and forgetfulness, questioning the relevance and the authenticity of both
—— Indian ExpressTaut, unsettling, ferocious
—— Fatima Bhutto, author of 'The Runaways'Avni Doshi writes fearlessly, with a cruel, almost terrifying intelligence. I was discomfited and exhilarated
—— Meng Jin, author of 'Little Gods'Wildly entertaining
—— THE BOOKSELLERI LOVED this absolute cracker of a book about the cuckoo in the next and a toxic female friendship. Highly recommended
—— LIZ NUGENT, author of LYING IN WAIT and OUR LITTLE CRUELTIESI loved hanging out with Ronke, Simi and Boo. A brilliant portrayal of how complicated friendships can sometimes be
—— NINA POTTELLThis story draws you in and spits you out, breathless. Echoes of Atwood's The Robber Bride but so its own thing. A treat.
—— KATE SAWYER, author of THE STRANDINGA heady mix of friendship, dark comedy and murder. WAHALA is razor-sharp
—— OK! MAGAZINEMay's nuanced exploration of race and gender makes this refreshing. This will leave readers intrigued to see what May does next
—— PUBLISHER'S WEEKLYA terrific, witty debut
—— I-NEWSWAHALA hooked me from page one and kept me enthralled till the (TWIST!) end. A riot of colour and noise, friendships, enemies, secrets, lies and soul food. Written with a lightness of touch. Insightful, clever, and honest. I will read anything and everything she writes
—— ERICKA WALLER, author of DOG DAYSThis gripping debut is a journey of friendship, revenge and finding your true self
—— STYLIST MAGAZINENikki May builds a propulsive reading experience as she slowly reveals Isobel's manipulations while keeping the reasons behind them hidden. Compelling character studies of each of the women don't shy away from the jealousies and judgements that sometimes make the line between friend and enemy razor thin...A fascinating look at the dark side of female friendship
—— KIRKUSA funny brilliant read
—— BELLAThis will satisfy hungry appetites and blow your thriller taste buds. Deliciously spicy
—— HEAT MAGAZINE, Read of the WeekNikki May's sharp and funny debut novel is a delight on many levels. WAHALA bursts with life from start to finish
—— DAILY EXPRESS, 'Books of 2022'May seamlessly weaves love, betrayal, self-reflection, and Nigerian food, clothing, and customs into this fast-paced debut...Fans of domestic suspense will revel in this tale of friendship, family, and forgiveness, set in the cultural milieu of Lagos
—— LIBRARY JOURNALSharp and darkly witty
—— CULTURE FLYA rapid and wildly hilarious page-turner
—— COUNTRY AND TOWN HOUSEA hotly tipped debut for 2022
—— DAILY EXPRESSWAHALA combines a frank and daring exploration of modern female friendship with a dark, punchy thriller
—— WOMAN AND HOMEFabulously fun
—— PRIMA MAGAZINEMay's skill for weaving together entertaining personal problems with a wistfulness for Nigerian food, customs and culture is unparalleled. WAHALA is hard to put down - an energetic, entertaining interrogation of a fundamentally flawed friendship
—— I-NEWSRefreshing and original. Exhilarating
—— SUNDAY TIMES, Best Popular Fiction of 2022Contemporary female friendship goes glam in this lively debut novel with remarkable depth
—— WASHINGTON POSTI would definitely recommend this book to friends. I already have!
—— Recommended Read, BBC Radio 2 Book ClubSharply observed ... sophisticated and culturally adept ... May is a masterful chronicler of Black upper-middle-class lie and ennui in Britain. WAHALA is both great fun and extremely smart in how it captures some of the central issues in modern city living: women's evolving roles in home and work, interracial relationships and multicultural identity, the current competition that runs through so many friendships and daily interactions and, most of all, how easily intimacy can morph into enmity
—— NPR.ORGWitty-wity-edge. Its humour is pin sharp
—— THE SHIFT, Sam Baker's Summer ReadingA dazzling, rich and efferverscent read. It's relevant and full of life. The killer edge was unexpectedly shocking. Just fantastic in every way
—— NB MAGAZINEA glorious read
—— STYLIST MAGAZINE, 'The Style List'Spicy as Aunty K's moin moin, satisfying as a plate of Ronke's jollof rice
—— SAGA MAGAZINEPacy, fun and gripping ... May wanted to write "a brown Sex and the City, or a brown Big Little Lies" - we reckon WAHALA could be just as big
—— EVENING STANDARD, Faces of 2022Like "Sex and the City" but set in London. And with mystery. And murder
—— COSMOPOLITANThe upshot is a funny, slightly murdery story about three women and their wahala, or "trouble" - their boyfriends, their professional aspirations, and their weaves
—— GLAMOUR MAGAZINEThe novel's strength lies in May's attention to her main character's identities. May's breezy prose is well-suited to these moments of casual intimacy, unfolding over drinks, at the hairdresser's or at the kitchen table, where all the best gossip takes place
—— NEW YORK TIMESSome of the smartest reading fun I've had all year
—— DAISY BUCHANAN