Description

‘Witty, savage and poignant’ NIGELLA LAWSON
‘Humane and deeply, darkly humorous’ MARINA KEMP, author of UNWILDING
‘Gorgeous, mesmerising’ CLAIRE POWELL, author of ALL IN

This summer, sink your teeth into a slice of family drama with this deliciously funny novel about sisterhood, secrets and the things you can’t stomach.

Matilda knows about hunger. She works in one of Sydney’s buzziest restaurants, Bocca, while suppressing her cravings, including for her celebrity chef boss, Colson. Everything in her life is tightly controlled: she allows herself one weekend a month to feast and purge, the rest of the time, she stays perfect.

That is, until her younger half-sister Lara crashes back into town, stirring up the family’s chaotic past and bringing long-buried family secrets to the surface. As the pressure rises in the kitchen and at home, Matilda’s carefully compartmentalised life begins to unravel.

A deliciously moreish book club novel about food, appetite, body image, family dysfunction and desire – perfect for readers looking for a smart summer holiday read.

‘I devoured it in a weekend’ FELICITY CLOAKE
‘Singularly rich and moreish’ GRAINNE O’HARE, author of THIRST TRAP

READERS ARE LOVING LONELY MOUTH:
‘Sharp, emotionally layered’
‘Her writing lingers’
‘A powerful, beautifully written story that gets under your skin’
‘I could talk about this book for hours’

Publisher Review

A song of abandonment, ghastly mothers, dysfunctional families, sisterhood and loss… Witty, savage and poignant — NIGELLA LAWSON Richly drawn, wry and utterly compelling. I devoured it in a weekend — FELICITY CLOAKE Lonely Mouth is humane and deeply, darkly humorous. Maley has a gift for character. Her cast of misfits stayed with me long after reading — MARINA KEMP, author of The Unwilding Packed full of gripping family dysfunction, we devoured this. Just don’t read it when you’re hungry! * Heat Magazine * I’m so glad to have discovered Jacqueline Maley. She writes with wit, poise and precision, while her characters are devastatingly real. Lonely Mouth is a gorgeous, mesmerising novel — CLAIRE POWELL, author of At The Table Complex, layered, and gut-wrenching, Lonely Mouth laces personal trauma and family dysfunction with humour and humanity. A singularly rich and moreish novel – I couldn’t get enough of it — GRAINNE O’HARE, author of Thirst Trap Read the first sentence of Jacqueline Maley’s debut novel, and you will be in it until the end. Electrifying, deeply unsettling and so, so satisfying. And, if you’ve ever tried to manage the sharp end of a career with the blunt demands of parenthood, fiercely recognisable — MEG MASON, on The Truth About Her Complex, gripping and beautifully realised… Maley’s debut asks some timely and necessary questions about truth, love and our responsibility to others * The Guardian, on The Truth About Her * Exploring themes of addiction, love, loss and abandonment, Maley’s nuanced novel feels like a pressure cooker ready to explode * Mail on Sunday *