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Borderline Fiction

By Derek Owusu
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Brief Description
FROM GRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELIST AND WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOT PRIZE 'Glaringly fresh and true' COURTTIA NEWLAND 'Full of originality and raw, pure, gutsy talent' CHRISTIE WATSON 'Masterful' TROY ONYANGO Loneliness means you don't have to disappoint anyone until you develop the habit... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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A staggering novel exploring masculinity, love and mental health from one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists 2023

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FROM GRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELIST AND WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOT PRIZE

'Glaringly fresh and true' COURTTIA NEWLAND
'Full of originality and raw, pure, gutsy talent' CHRISTIE WATSON
'Masterful' TROY ONYANGO

Loneliness means you don't have to disappoint anyone until you develop the habit of talking to yourself

At nineteen, Marcus is young and in love... again. When his latest crush, Adwoa, starts showing him true affection, Marcus is ready to reconsider his lifestyle - the drugs, the casual encounters. At least for a little while.

Now, before he knows it, Marcus is twenty-five. And history risks repeating itself.

Told through two parallel narratives - one past, one present - Borderline Fiction is a highly original and deeply affecting contemporary tale written with an intensity of emotion and vulnerability. The novel is a close-up, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes funny examination of what it means to be a young black man navigating today's world.

Tortured, beautiful, anxious and poetic, Borderline Fiction is a memorable glimpse into the inner world of a young man searching for an authentic way to love and be loved.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781838855734

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 21 May 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Canongate Books

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 135.0mm

Height: 204.0mm

Weight: 212g

Pages: 304

Collections

Derek Owusu Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction

About the Author

Derek Owusu is an award-winning writer and poet from North London. He has written for the BBC, ITV, Granta, Esquire, GQ and Tate Britain. In 2019, Owusu collated, edited and contributed to SAFE: On Black British Men Reclaiming Space, an anthology exploring the experiences of Black men in Britain. His first novel, That Reminds Me, won the Desmond Elliott Prize for best debut novel published in the UK and Ireland. His novel Losing the Plot was longlisted for the Jhalak Prize and the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2023. The same year, he was selected as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists.

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