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‘At times roaring and visceral, in turn gentle and embracing, always driven by hope and determination’ RAYNOR WINN
‘Haunting and powerful’ KATE MOSSE

To grow up in rural poverty is to fight for life before you can walk.

Natasha Carthew was born into a world that sat alongside picture-postcard Cornwall, one where second homes took the sea view of council properties, summer months shifted the course of people’s lives, and wealth converged with poverty on sandy beaches.

In the rockpools and hedgerows of the natural world, Natasha found solace in the beauty of the landscape, and in the mobile library she found her means of escape. In Undercurrent she returns to the cliff paths of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature.

This is a journey through place, and a vivid story of hope, beauty and fierce resilience.

‘Marvellous, moving and mesmerising’ ANITA SETHI
‘A story of queer resistance, of community and of finding your own voice’ DAMIAN BARR

Publisher Review

Raw, rebellious, urgent and hopeful, this is a stunning tale of a life made and saved by nature -- Dr Helen Scales Natasha Carthew shines the light on another side of Cornwall, one far from the world of bright Instagram pictures and celebrity travel shows. She reveals a place of poverty, dead-end jobs and little hope. But she writes so passionately about a world she knows well and her humanity and sense of humour shine though on every page, ensuring that the often dark subject matter fuels a rich, rewarding read -- Petroc Trelawny Luscious layers of poetic prose that fluidly lead us through the landscapes and seascapes of Cornwall, recounting stories of poverty and often tough childhood struggles. Stories told by one who knew that they needed and wanted so much more for their life, but one for whom the seascape of Cornwall is still the hypnotic textural lens. This book is a beautiful, sometimes difficult, elegy to our innermost hopes, fears and dreams. Gorgeously and generously written -- Juno Roche A book like a beacon, blazing with love and anger for how it is to grow up poor and full of serious ambition in a place others use as a playground. Carthew's unbreakable commitment to making art from the outside edge of social provision is a rallying call to all of us who grew up pushed to the margins. This is a fierce, inspiring story -- Tanya Shadrick Poetic, political and powerful, Natasha Carthew weaves lyrical and sensual nature writing with the tough realities of growing up in poverty -- Chloe Timms A compelling counterbalance to the conventional Cornish story, Undercurrent takes the reader into a side of Cornwall that is rarely presented to the outside world. Natasha Carthew, in scintillating prose, recounts her childhood by the sea, in a place full of dazzling natural beauty, but with a dark side of poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity. Her moving story of finding a way to become a writer is both a testament to her strength, and a passionate call for social justice for disadvantaged rural communities -- Sophie Pierce Railing against the brutal unfairness of accepting the life she seems condemned to lead, Natasha weaves an exhilarating story of escaping the dangerous undercurrents of her life and becoming the writer she was always meant to be. I was with her until the end -- Linda Gask Carthew shows us Cornwall as it often lived but rarely seen, where the rich holiday and others struggle to survive. It's a tale of two counties with the ever-changing sea as a constant. It is a story of queer resistance, of community and of finding your own voice -- Damian Barr By turns marvellous, moving, & mesmerising * Anita Sethi * Haunting and powerful, a book about the sea and the power of belonging, about secrets and words, this is a beautiful and powerful memoir. I read it in one sitting. * Kate Mosse * A powerful story of social inequality told with the depth of voice that only comes from a writer passionately rooted in place. Like the Cornish tides that fill her life, Carthew is at times roaring, visceral and exclusive, in turn gentle, embracing and inclusive, but always driven by hope and determination. * Raynor Winn * A fierce, urgent memoir by one of our most important writers. Natasha Carthew is a warrior you'd want on your side in almost any battle, but more important, she is a torchbearer. If you want to understand life in rural Britain, look where she casts her light. * Amy-Jane Beer * This important and beautifully lyrical book asks questions about identity, belonging and the ability of words to transform a life * The Times * A simmering dissection of rural poverty -- Luke Turner Praise for Natasha Carthew: A beautiful piece of writing, such a testament to the generations of strong women who have inhabited this coast and told in a poetic Cornish accent so evocative of time and place -- Raynor Winn A real thing of beauty. The innovative structure and striking illustrations combine to create a verbal and visual feast. The reader feels like they are down in the darkness of mine and eavesdropping on the past -- Cathy Rentzenbrink Carthew is an elegantly lyrical writer * Independent * Gripping stuff, Carthew's prose has a startling ferocity * Telegraph * Carthew's writing is breath-takingly fierce, smart and tender * Times Educational Supplement * Natasha writes with a vivid, imagistic language * FInancial Times * Carthew's is a different voice: sinewy and inventive -- Patrick Gale