Author:Carol Anshaw
'Here's passion and addiction, guilt and damage, all the beautiful mess of family life. Carry the One will lift readers off their feet and bear them along on its eloquent tide' Emma Donoghue
In the early hours of the morning, following a wedding reception, a car filled with stoned, drunk and sleepy guests accidentally hits and kills a girl on a dark country road. For the next twenty-five years, the lives of those involved are subtly shaped by this tragic moment.
Through friendships and love affairs, marriage and divorce, parenthood, addiction, and the modest calamities and triumphs of ordinary days, Carry the One shows how one life affects another and how those who thrive and those who self-destruct are closer to each other than we'd expect.
'Her deftly episodic novel of love, time and off-beat family life is warm, generous and wise. An enormously engaging novel' Daily Mail
'Carry The Oneis a finely crafted novel, full of phrases you want to cut out and keep, and characters you think you know. It is delicate in its touch, yet huge in its reach' Observer
'Superb . . . Anshaw sees her characters with startling clarity and no small helping of warmth and humour . . . Anshaw's writing [is] subtle, bemused, kind and smart, she nails moment after moment . . .Carry The Oneis a marvellous novel, grown-up, smart and emotionally intelligent about people who, like the rest of us, try but mostly fail to keep their ducks in a row' Patrick Ness, Guardian
'A tender tale of what happens to ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances' Marie Claire
'A funny, vivid and pingingly true story about longing and the pain of love. Anshaw conveys beefy emotions and life-changing events with the most gossamer of touches' Rachel Johnson, Vogue
'If you love Jonathan Franzen, you'll love this compelling book' Entertainment Weekly
Her deftly episodic novel of love, time and off-beat family life is warm, generous and wise. An enormously engaging novel
—— Daily MailCarry The One is a finely crafted novel, full of phrases you want to cut out and keep, and characters you think you know. It is delicate in its touch, yet huge in its reach
—— ObserverSuperb . . . Anshaw sees her characters with startling clarity, an acute alertness to nuance, and no small helping of warmth and humour . . . Anshaw's writing [is] subtle, bemused, kind and smart, she nails moment after moment . . . Carry The One is a marvellous novel, grown-up, smart and emotionally intelligent about people who, like the rest of us, try but mostly fail to keep their ducks in a row
—— Patrick Ness , GuardianA tender tale of what happens to ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances
—— Marie ClaireHere's passion and addiction, guilt and damage, all the beautiful mess of family life. Carry the One will lift readers off their feet and bear them along on its eloquent tide
—— Emma DonoghueBeautifully observed . . . [Anshaw] intimately dissects how one event or choice can alter the trajectory of a life, how a fork in the road can lead to wholly unexpected and divergent outcomes
—— Michiko Kakutani , The New York TimesA funny, vivid and pingingly true story about longing and the pain of love. Anshaw conveys beefy emotions and life-changing events with the most gossamer of touches
—— Rachel Johnson , VogueAnshaw's understated, casual tone is made delightful with small details.Vivid images hit home with finishing flourishes . . . Carry The One is an engaging narrative, eloquently told
—— FTCarol Anshaw is one of those authors who should be a household name . . . [a] fine, eloquent novel
—— USA TodaySuperb . . . [Anshaw] has a knack for capturing a personality in a single phrase
—— Financial TimesMoving and engaging . . . Anshaw has written not only a funny, smart and closely observed story, but also one that explores the way tragedy can follow hard on celebration, binding people together even more lastingly than passion.
—— Sylvia Brownrigg , The New York Times Book ReviewWords used to praise Anshaw's earlier novels - witty, warm, intimate, poignant - apply equally well to her most compelling book yet, a wholly seductive tale of siblings, addiction, conviction, and genius . . . Masterful in her authenticity, quicksilver dialogue, wise humour, and receptivity to mystery, Anshaw has created a deft and transfixing novel of fallibility and quiet glory
—— BooklistA brilliant feat of storytelling . . . one of the most intensely vibrant novels I've ever read
—— Boston GlobeFunny, touching, knowing . . . a quiet, lovely, genuine accomplishment
—— Publishers WeeklySplendid . . . sits somewhere between a Jonathan Franzen novel and a collection of haiku
—— Entertainment WeeklyAnshaw is that rare, brilliant, witty writer whose prose is rich and buttery, and whose plotting is as well-conceived and seamlessly executed as that of the most intricate thriller
—— Chicago TribuneIf you love Jonathan Franzen, you'll love this compelling book
—— Entertainment WeeklyGraceful and compassionate . . . Writing with rueful wit and a subtle understanding of the currents and passions that rule us, Anshaw demonstrates that struggling to do one's best, whatever the circumstances, makes for a life of consequence
—— PeopleA fine novel . . . stunning . . . wise
—— TLSAnshaw submerges the reader in gorgeous detail
—— IndependentCarol Anshaw's writing is cool and funny, outraged and sympathetic by turns. The book is full of sharp observations and memorable phrases
—— Literary ReviewBeautiful prose
—— Independent on SundayA series of beautifully detailed snapshots . . . an arresting examination of three intersecting lives, forcefully told
—— Telegraph