Sweet Home

Shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize 2019Longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize 2019'A gripping, wonderfully understated book that oozes humanity, emotion and humour.' Guardian'Brilliantly observed . . . Erskine writes about her characters without sentiment but with compassion and, perhaps most importantly, with a sense of the absurd that finds humour in the darkest of places.' The TimesSet in the author's native Belfast, the ten stories in Sweet Home lay bare the heartbreak and quiet tragedies that run under the surface of everyday lives. A lonely woman is fascinated by her niqab-wearing neighbours; a middle-aged teacher becomes obsessed with a young Gaelic football player; and an employer covers for his two employees caught having sex in a public toilet.Wendy Erskine offers perfectly formed, brilliantly observed portraits of people trying to carve out a life for themselves, all the while being buffeted by the loss, grief and regret that come their way. Warm, compassionate and funny, Sweet Home captures life in contemporary East Belfast, in all of its forms.'Dark, bittersweet and perfectly formed.' Sara Baume'A collection of deft, depth-charged short stories.' Paul Muldoon