Last Ones Left Alive

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What to expect

'Bleakly beautiful. A raw emotional depth-charge of a novel' MR Carey

LAST ONES LEFT ALIVE is the unputdownable debut novel from Sarah Davis-Goff, sure to grip readers of dystopian literary fiction such as STATION 11 or THE END WE START FROM.

Remember your Just-In-Cases. Beware Tall Buildings. Watch Your Six

Raised by her mother and Maeve on Slanbeg, an island off the west coast of Ireland, Orpen has a childhood of love, rockpools and stories by the fireside. But the stories grow darker, and the training begins. Ireland has been devoured by a ravening menace known as the skrake, and though Slanbeg is safe for now, the women must always be ready to run, or to fight.

When Maeve is bitten, Orpen is faced with a dilemma: kill Maeve before her transformation is complete, or try to get help. So Orpen sets off, with Maeve in a wheelbarrow and her dog at her side, in the hope of finding other survivors, and a cure. It is a journey that will test Orpen to her limits, on which she will learn who she really is, who she really loves, and how to imagine a future in a world that ended before she was born.

(P)2019 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

Critics Review

Written in sparse, affecting prose, and reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, this is a fiercely feminist, highly imaginative novel

Observer

A debut novel of jaw-dropping skill and immense power, a shimmering dystopian vision but also a lucid meditation on tenderness, intimacy and courage. From the get-go it gripped me, and since the last page I’ve been haunted

Joseph O'Connor

Kept me up until 2am. A triumph. A confident, assured debut from one of the most exciting new voices on the Irish literary scene

Louise O'Neill

I will be cursing Last Ones Left Alive for seriously troubling dreams for weeks to come

Patrick Gale

A deft and darkly enigmatic saga . . . so many details connect this terrifying Ireland to the one we recognise

Irish Independent

This dystopian future Ireland will unnerve and intrigue and thrill readers everywhere

Donal Ryan

A riveting novel. It reminded me that even in the darkest times, love and human decency can survive

Eowyn Ivey

Last Ones Left Alive gripped me as much by the heart as it did by the throat. A stormer of a debut, Davis-Goff has created an urgent, assured, terrifying tale of destruction, humanity, and love

Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Beautifully written and terrifying. ‘Last Ones Left Alive’ will leave you reeling, not only from its originality and searing vision, but also from the humanity of the relationships portrayed

Kate Hamer

LAST ONES LEFT ALIVE combines the spare poetry of THE ROAD with the dizzying pace of 28 DAYS LATER. A beautiful book, lyrical in its violence, painting in vivid strokes the joy and brutality of the human experience. An original, brilliant take on the end of the world.

Jennie Melamed, author of GATHER THE DAUGHTERS

Davis-Goff has crafted a beautiful, lyrical, and guttural examination of what it takes to love and survive in a world shaped by loss and violence. This is a magnetic novel pulsing with life. It is truly remarkable and unforgettable

Sarah Schmidt, author of SEE WHAT I HAVE DONE

This pacy debut marries glimmering prose to a gripping plot

Sunday Express

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