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.
‘Unique, evocative take on the coming-of-age novel.’ Vogue
‘A haunting, hypnotically written debut.’ The Independent
‘Full of breathtaking passages . . . this is a quiet, understated book but one of bottled magic.’ The Bookseller
‘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
‘It’s so intricate and subtle; an equally weighted attention to the richness of each character’s interior life, as they are shaped by the forces of personality, circumstance, culture and class. She really 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