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I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

By Keiran Goddard
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Brief Description
Five friends. Five lives. Countless hopes. Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli and Conor grew up together. They played together, skipped school together, and dreamt of everything they'd do with their lives. Now they are thirty, and only Rian has made it out of the estate and moved... Read More
Format: Hardback
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A moving and lyrical novel about five friends whose lives are shaped by the brutality of a world that doesn't value them - and the very different choices they make

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
Five friends. Five lives. Countless hopes.

Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli and Conor grew up together. They played together, skipped school together, and dreamt of everything they'd do with their lives.

Now they are thirty, and only Rian has made it out of the estate and moved away to another city, but his money doesn't stop him clinging to a vision of the past that is quickly slipping away. Oli is fading by the day, drinking and snorting his way through the endless boredom, while Conor has a baby on the way and a business plan he hopes will change everything. Patrick and Shiv are as in love as ever, but even they are rocked when an old secret opens up new wounds...

Bold, ambitious and stylistically striking, I See Buildings Fall like Lightning asks what happens when all the things we expect from our lives end up ... not happening. It lays bare the ways that place and circumstance shape us, explores the redeeming and transforming beauty of friendship and examines the true limits of hope and forgiveness.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781408717813

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 08 February 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Abacus

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 218.0mm

Weight: 380g

Pages: 256

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Keiran Goddard Literary Fiction

About the Author

Keiran Goddard grew up in Shard End, Birmingham in a working-class family. He is the author of one poetry pamphlet, two full-length poetry collections and the novel Hourglass. His debut collection was shortlisted for the Melita Hume Prize, he was the runner up in the William Blake Prize and Hourglass was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott prize. He speaks internationally on issues related to social change and currently produces research on workers' rights, the future of work, automation and trade unionism.

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    LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2025 'Shows us how to love one another and hold on to what matters most' – Tice Cin, author of Keeping the House 'Striking, moving, subtly radical' – Guardian 'Confirms Goddard as one of the best writers of our time' – Lucia Osborne-Crowley, author of The Lasting Harm Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli and Conor...
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