Description

Two couples pursue their dream of communal living in the English countryside – and then it all comes tumbling down, in this stunning new work from the prize-winning author of Alison

Charlotte and Francesca were best friends at university in the mid-1970s. But tensions coursed beneath their natural affection, deepening when Fran got together with Charlotte’s friend Adrian, and the two women drifted apart.

When Fran contacts Charlotte out of the blue with an unusual proposal – an invitation to live with her and Adrian in the rambling house they’ve bought in the countryside – Charlotte impulsively persuades her partner, Bill, to accept this tantalising promise of a new kind of community.

At first their new life feels utopian; life and space are shared joyfully. But it doesn’t take long for old tensions to rise to the surface, shattering their illusions and showing each of them in a new light.

The Wreck is a glorious genre-defying illustrated novel about the messy tangle of love, envy and desire that underpins our most precious relationships, and the difficult paths we must take to discover our true selves.

Publisher Review

Satisfyingly detailed and juicy… an utter treat — Amy Liptrot, author of THE OUTRUN Lizzy Stewart’s characters feel to me like friends. I want to have a drink with them, hug them, shake them…. The Wreck is a tender and wise portrait of love and friendship that ponders with an astonishingly light touch big questions to do with who we are and how we live. She’s done it again! — Chloe Ashby, author of SECOND SELF I fell hopelessly in love with The Wreck. Lizzy Stewart has created the most inviting, appealing world for her endlessly compelling characters, whose charm and flaws kept me glued to their dramas and entanglements throughout, and left me utterly bereft at the end. A beautiful, funny, clever, insightful book about friendship, desire and idealism, that tackles the great universal question of how to live. — Lisa Owens What a rare treat to read a graphic novel that deals with love and sex from a sophisticated female perspective. Propulsive and addictive, The Wreck is a dream house filled with deep truths about relationships and yearning for a bigger, freer life, and I wanted to inhabit it forever. — Astrid Goldsmith, author of THE CRYSTAL VASE Impressive, immersive and full of knotty psychological insight — Joff Winterhart, author of DEAR HISTORIAN A one-of-a-kind novel: a perfectly-judged story of friendship and mistakes, love, intimacy and the passing of time. I adored every page of it. — Ana Kinsella, author of FRIDA SLATTERY AS HERSELF Lizzy Stewart has done it again: written and drawn another wonderful book. The Wreck is incredibly intimate and domestic but also astonishingly universal. — Claire Fuller, author of UNSETTLED GROUND Friendship, love and a gorgeous old house. A beautiful story beautifully told. I loved inhabiting The Wreck — Jessica Stanley, author of CONSIDER YOURSELF KISSED No other writer or artist can pinpoint the queasy interdependence of class and the arts in England with such nauseous accuracy, only to pull the rug out from under us with tenderness — Joanna Walsh, author of Amateurs! I adored this… [an] intimate tale of class, envy, love and friendship — Madeleine Feeny * Bookseller *10 titles not to miss in April* *