If This Is Home

by Stuart Evers

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Pub Date Feb 10 2017 | Archive Date Dec 17 2020

Picador

General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction

Description

In the post-factual world, the liar is king…

Three impossibly rich men arrive at the most exclusive and secretive development in Las Vegas. Behind its anonymous facade, their every wish and desire will be waited on by Mr Jones. But nothing is quite what it seems, including Mr Jones. American immigration knows him as Joe Novak, his best friend as Mark Wilkinson. It’s a carefully constructed identity – until it all comes crashing down.

After an act of shocking violence, Mark flees the US and without knowing quite way, heads back to his small English home town. There he will be forced to confront his lies, his deceptions, his father, and ultimately, Bethany Wilder, his partner in dreams who never made out of the country. It is a journey that will make him question everything he knows, and everything he has created, over the course of his life.

An inventive and emotional novel of self-deception, the lure of lies, the power of dreams to destroy, of memory to distort, and of courage, ultimately, to heal, If This is Home is a hugely original, unforgettable debut.

Advance Praise

'So intelligent and perceptive and so well-written . . . this first novel is a fine achievement, something to savour. When I had finished it, I went back and read it again, and it seemed even better second time round.' Allan Massie, Scotsman

'Assured and unsettling.' Amber Pearson, Daily Mail

'A hugely original, unforgettable debut . . . Both gut-churning and beautifully written, this is a must read.' Easy Living

'Troubling and hypnotic.' Elle

‘Evers is exceptionally good at dialogue: the cascading monologues of a taxi driver, hairdresser and bitter photographer made me simultaneously wince in recognition and smile’ Independent on Sunday

'A deft, affecting piece of work about possibility and identity. It heralds a fresh, new voice destined to roll gold bars on the slot machine of literary life.' Sinéad Gleeson, Irish Times

‘Evers captures the frustration of adolescence and the lingering pain of careless destruction with sharp, flowing prose and a propulsive structure’ Metro

'Adept and inventive . . . A quiet triumph,' Ben East, Observer

‘Evers manages to land every dramatic punch, with a final twist that has devastating implications . . . this is a fresh and eccentric novel that isn’t afraid of attending to the broader pleasures.’ Spectator

‘Sparky, edgy and bursting with energy . . . an incredibly entertaining read’ Stylist

‘Clean and elegant; his sentences are unadorned, downbeat and honest . . . Evers is a talent for the future – of that, I think, there’s little doubt’ Sunday Telegraph

'British fiction’s latest great hope . . . Slowly revealing its secrets, this book has a remarkable power to unsettle.' Graeme Allister, The Word

‘The novel picks up a thriller-like pace, weaving in the odd, sometimes devastating twist, and marking Evers as an author with storytelling substance’ Timeout

'Evers knocks out enviably beautiful prose, and the humming, muffled, air-conditioned neverland of Las Vegas is conjured up with a captivating and woozy effect . . . A compelling book.' Hugo Rifkind, The Times

'So intelligent and perceptive and so well-written . . . this first novel is a fine achievement, something to savour. When I had finished it, I went back and read it again, and it seemed even...