Mesmeric and tender, this is the tale of one man’s search for love and affection.
A man returns to his hometown to clear out the flat of his recently deceased mother. While there, he cannot resist visiting his former lover. As the storm rages in the night outside, he finds in the man’s embrace some kind of quiet; some kind of home.
As we are drawn into the narrator’s past, we see how a childhood marked by abuse and a life lived on the edges can shape someone – and what respite and beauty can be found in love and trust. Unsentimental yet aching with longing and vulnerability, Angelo Tijssens’ The Edges is a deeply humane, moving and beautiful debut.
‘One of the most impressive of new European writers.’ John Boyne, Irish Times
‘A modern masterpiece. . . Bursts with sensuality & deep emotion . . . The feelings are timeless, & portrayed in evocative, pared-back style. ’ Telegraph
‘A tender story of love and longing.’ Monocle
‘This piercing shard of a novel nods to Shuggie Bain … Quietly unforgettable.’ Daily Mail
‘That duality, the push-me-pull-me hesitancy between child and adult, between that of our inner and outer lives – who we wish to be seen as and what we are desperate to hide – is explored beautifully in this sensitive debut.’ Marie Claire UK
‘A love story that swells with both longing and torment.’ Crack
‘A book that feels like heartache – at once tender & violent, intimate & lyrical, The Edges conjures itself in flowing temporal rhythms, immersing the reader in the night-lit, wintery ache of love.’ Seán Hewitt
‘The Edges had me gripped from the very start. Tijssens has created a beguiling world filled with reckoning and melancholic sensuality. A masterfully crafted novella that leaves you wanting more.’ Tomasz Jędrowski
‘An impressive debut.’ TLS
‘A hovering wounded story of unending love and fear and pain that saturates the reader in silence and memory . . . Unmissable.’ David Hayden
‘A deeply affecting meditation on the deprivation of love. Like a meeting of Édouard Louis and Garth Greenwell.’ Michael Amherst
‘A powerful gem, written with great precision, lurching between love and violence.’ De Standaard
‘Succinct and understated writing, deeply human and full of suppressed anguish.’ Feeling
‘A hit. I’m hugely impressed by this strong debut.’ Het Nieuwsblad
‘Mesmerising and haunting, it will stay with you for years.’ Andrés N. Ordorica
