A day in an English school in the 1980s unfolds in the aftermath of the death of a beloved teacher, Mr Ardennes. But while students and teachers grapple with this sudden loss, normal life, as it must, continues. Lessons, flirtations, arguments. The clock ticks on.
At the heart of it all is Tin. Burning bright with defiance, feared and adored in equal measure – and potentially betrayed by best friend Robin and boyfriend Jonah. As the heat of the baking hot day intensifies, rivalries and hormones simmer, and old secrets surface.
Set against a backdrop of strikes and economic unrest, Dark Like Under is at the same time languorous with sun-soaked, rural beauty. Thrumming with life, this luminous debut captures the promise and risk of late adolescence and is a profound exploration of friendship, loneliness and grief.
‘It’s so intricate and subtle . . . captures the intense intimacies and loneliness of adolescence, the complexity of people coming into being; and the teachers’ helplessness, exasperation, and tenderness . . . Devastating.’ Amy Sackville
‘There are moments of real beauty in this book: sentences so well written, so balanced and satisfying, I went back to enjoy them again.’ Daily Telegraph
‘An unpretentiously elegiac novel, it hymns nature’s solace and the power of human connection with memorable grace.’ Daily Mail
‘Against a backdrop of Thatcher and the Falklands war, Chadwick’s cast of children, on the precipice of adulthood, are caught in the crosshairs of adult politics . . . Chadwick is adept at finding the lesser tragedies bursting at the seams, amounting to a clever and compassionate debut.’ Observer
‘Impressively subtle, sensual and sympathetic.’ Guardian
‘A strange, unsettling, but rather brilliant novel. The school comes across like a tinderbox, one that requires only a single tragedy to spark the flame that sets it alight.’ Irish Times
‘Her descriptive powers are remarkable, in particular as, like an impressionist, she charts changes in the light . . . But Chadwick is not just good at surfaces: she is also capable of brilliant characterisation . . . We come to understand not just these characters, but also their families and the whole social history of the town . . . A novel of wonder as much as of pain.’ Times Literary Supplement
‘Subtle, almost transcendent grace . . . Chadwick’s prose is delicate, precise and not without a little humour.’ Marie Claire
‘Full of breathtaking passages . . . this is a quiet, understated book but one of bottled magic.’ Bookseller
‘An exceptional debut. The prose is gorgeous. A quiet book but gripping and moving. Can’t think when I last read a debut this good.’ Alice Jolly
‘So specifically good on the emotional life of teenagers and the adults who interact with them, Dark Like Under is generous, deeply immersive and occasionally startlingly close to the bone.’ Lizzy Stewart
‘Unique, evocative take on the coming-of-age novel.’ Vogue
‘A haunting, hypnotically written debut.’ The Independent
‘A perfect encapsulation of late adolescent intense emotions, along with loss, loneliness, betrayal and grief.’ The Gloss
