The Knowing

From the author of A Room Called Earth, a brilliant new novel about the mess that comes before salvation.

Camille lives in the country. She's forgotten her phone. She's taking the train to work. She's got period pain. She can't escape herself ... or her toxic boss, Holly. And it's Valentine's Day.

The Knowing is a pacy novel. Ryan has great control over the rhythm and momentum of the short chapters through which it progresses, which makes the ever-increasing pressure on Camille all the more palpable. The Knowing is a visceral and sensual novel that is very much concerned with what it means to be a body in the world, and the ways in which we might attend to its pleasures and demands. It is deliciously funny—mostly because of Camille's sharp, wry wit, which is always tempered by her slight awkwardness—and deeply empathetic. A distinctive, assured work.

- Fiona Wright, The Saturday Paper

Ryan's prose zips along at a giddy pace—it's whip-smart, original, full of wit and glass-sharp observations, and Camille is hilarious, sparkly company. The Knowing is a timely, absorbing, fun, and acutely observed study of human nature.

- Julia Kelly, The Irish Times

Soul medicine for the smartphone weary. Modern-day fears and eternal longings are fashioned into an astonishing, one-of-a-kind literary bouquet. Timely. Unflinching. Life-affirming. Brilliant.

- Matthew Quick, New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook and We Are the Light