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On this episode we hear from playwright Hannah Patterson about her debut novel Ungone. It’s another gem from the mighty Rough Trade Books, the story of a single decision and the strange new world that grows from it. 

Hannah’s central character Eve is recently returned from an Antarctic research trip to grapple with the decline of her ageing mother. Unable to visit her at the care home in which she lives, she employs Erin, a total stranger, to go instead, pretending to be her. The act has profound consequences for all three women as the fixed positions of family slip, old ties are loosened and new bonds are formed. 

The transience of contemporary life is woven throughout Ungone. The characters navigating a precarious, collapsing world, the unyielding edifices of family seeming ever stranger for it. A curious tension, captured in the prominent prefix of the title that frees the word from its meaning. 

“So astute, so shrewd… The theme—can we be someone else?—is beautifully laid out.”—DAVID HARE

“Ungone is as original as it is thrilling and as beautiful as it is haunting. A whip-smart examination of the complexities of end-of-life care and our sense of duty to the ones we love. It is a poignant and fascinating novel, masterfully written.” —HARRY MACQUEEN (writer/director of Supernova)

PREORDER: UNGONE 

https://roughtradebooks.com/collections/books/products/ungone-hannah-patterson

UP NEXT:  The wonderful Emma Warren with her latest book ‘Up The Youth Club.’ Until then, big love x  

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