How to Leave the House

<p><H3> The funniest, wildest and most original debut novel of 2024 </H3><br><br><b>''Uproarious, generous and witty'' <i>New York Times</i></b><br><br><b>''What a debut'' Stephen Fry</b><br><br><b>''A wild and funny ride through modern life'' <i>Financial Times</i></b><br><br><b>''Gobby, barbed and garrulous'' Eley Williams</b><br><br><b>''Truly original'' <i>Nicola Dinan, author of Bellies</i><br><br>''Genuinely hilarious'' Keiran Goddard, author of <i>Hourglass</i></b><br><br><b>''It''s impossible not to be charmed by this big-hearted story'' <i>Bustle</i></b><br><br>It''s Natwest''s last day before he leaves for university, and there''s only one thing on his mind: the deeply embarrassing package he ordered to his house - which still hasn''t arrived. He won''t leave town without it. Any alternative is too distressing to consider ... <br><br> This is the story of twenty-four hours in the life of NATWEST, and his small-town odyssey in pursuit of the missing package. And yet it''s also the story of a MIDDLE-AGED DENTIST who dreams of being a respected artist - but the only thing he can seem to paint is the human mouth. And it''s the story of a TORTURED IMAM involved in a quasi-romantic entanglement with the local vicar; and an OCTOGENARIAN mourning the death of her secretive husband; and a TROUBLED TEENAGER whose nudes have leaked on the internet. It''s the story of Natwest''s obnoxious EX-BOYFRIEND, and his CLASS-TRAITOR MOTHER and <i>her</i> CHILDHOOD BOYFRIEND, and the life-changing secrets he knows about Natwest''s past. <br><br> Alternating between Natwest''s idiosyncratic inner world and the perspectives of the other characters - and dazzling in its energy, imagination and originality - this is an outrageously funny and tenderly moving story about being connected to everyone and everything at all times; about love, friendship, and the lies we tell ourselves; about unhappy endings, happy endings - and whether anything really is as simple as one or the other.</p>