Description

An unflinching and emotionally insightful debut about cultural identity, homesickness, love and loss.

In the five years following his brother’s death, Aaron has built himself a life of solitary routines. After moving from Dublin to Boston, and illegally overstaying her visa, Roisin has done the same.

When the two meet on a night out, they each find in the other something missing in their lives. A semblance of home.

Their relationship is complicated by their disparate religious backgrounds – Aaron is Jewish; Roisin is atheist – and by the harsh realities of everyday life. Just as they’re pushed to their breaking point, Roisin realises she is pregnant.

Placeholders is a poignant story of loneliness corrected and the transformative power of love.

Publisher Review

Poignant and lyrical, James Roseman’s debut explores loss, faith, family and homesickness with care and warmth. A moving debut, Roseman does what the best authors do, and illuminates how one human relates to another — Bonnie Burke-Patel, author of I Died at Fallow Hall Placeholders is a beautiful debut. A quietly moving reminder that people, not ideas, are what make or break a home or a heart — Sheila Armstrong, author of Falling Animals There’s no way around it: James Roseman writes beautifully. Confident, complex, moving, funny, Placeholders is a novel that makes a beeline to the heart. Time and again, I didn’t want it to end — Declan Toohey, author of Perpetual Comedown Placeholders is an incredibly assured debut novel – humane, heartfelt and beautifully observed. Roseman raises huge questions about identity, belonging and family, excelling in his depiction of the small, everyday exchanges which make or break a relationship. A quietly, powerful novel, from a writer I’m keen to keep my eye on — Jan Carson, author of Quickly, While They Still Have Horses An intimate, unflinching, and, above all, heartfelt novel, the best debut I’ve read this year. Buy your Roseman stock early. I loved this — Ronan Ryan, author of The Fractured Life of Jimmy Dice