Description

FROM GRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELIST AND WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOT PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2026

‘Disarmingly poignant’ Guardian
‘Rare and compulsive’ CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS
‘Unflinching’ DAMON GALGUT
‘Wise, tender and funny’ CAMILLA GRUDOVA
‘A true masterpiece’ JASON OKUNDAYE
‘Glaringly fresh and true’ COURTTIA NEWLAND
‘Full of originality and raw, pure, gutsy talent’ CHRISTIE WATSON

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 of what it means to be a young black man navigating today’s world.

Publisher Review

Disarmingly poignant . . . captivating . . . brave, eye-opening, unsettling, and not easily forgotten * * Guardian * * In the hands of a lesser writer, this material could easily have turned into a slick tale of redemption, but instead it feels authentic and recognizable, an unflinching inwards meditation on the forces that shape a particular life — DAMON GALGUT The evolution of modern British literature as it lives and breathes belongs to Derek Owusu . . . With this novel, Owusu doubles down on everything that makes his fiction so exemplary. There are passages that took my breath away. The world, the dialect, the ideas, are all glaringly fresh and true — COURTTIA NEWLAND Borderline Fiction is that rare thing – a novel which is simultaneously melancholic, wise, tender and funny. A lyrically poignant gift from one of the most exciting young writers working today — CAMILLA GRUDOVA A rare and compulsive read. Through precise and fearless prose, Owusu’s characters draw you in while keeping you both close, and at arm’s length, in a world so intimate you feel like you’re intruding. Unforgettable — CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS A true masterpiece. With prose that skilfully blends the intricate and the colloquial, Derek Owusu captures the vulnerability, terror, heartache and madness that touches the body when you’re afflicted with that familiar sensation of love — JASON OKUNDAYE Mind-bending fiction . . . an addictive and affecting account of how it can spin a person out of control without them even knowing it * * Financial Times * * Borderline Fiction marks Derek Owusu as one of the most exciting literary voices in UK fiction right now. His breathtaking prose is brim full of originality and raw, pure, gutsy talent — CHRISTIE WATSON Introspective and complex * * Irish Times * * Derek Owusu is one of one. In Borderline Fiction, the dexterity of Owusu’s pen and distinctive literary vision is on full display and I was completely transfixed. This book is phenomenal; a marker in the progression of British literature — JENDELLA BENSON