Pity Party

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now ${{ price }} Send as a gift
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

'What a read! What a tear jerker! But very funny, and written with such breezy wit, and characters I ADORED. Daisy is EXCELLENT' MARIAN KEYES
'Brilliant characters, a heartfelt story and lots of soul. Daisy's ability to bring characters to life and plot out brilliantly messy storylines is a gift. I loved this book' FEARNE COTTON

Katherine lives by the rules, ticks all the boxes and prepares for the worst, even while she hopes for the best.

Then the worst actually happens and, as she tries to navigate life as a young widow, it turns out she was not prepared at all.

Nothing scares Katherine more than stopping, but everyone insists she needs to take some time for herself. Head to a wellness retreat, they said. Enjoy some me-time, they said...

Except this retreat isn't the pity party she was hoping for. Instead of massages, she has erotic meditation, and instead of spa treatments she has scream therapy.

Katherine has never lost control in her life. In fact, she's fairly certain that if she starts screaming she might never stop.

But she's about to let go, and everyone had better stand back...

Hilarious, heartbreaking and honest, this is a story about learning how to stop playing it safe in a world that feels so dangerous - and showing up to the party, even when it feels impossible.

***'Deeply moving and very funny...I loved it' LOUISE O'NEILL
'The funniest book you'll read this year' LAUREN BRAVO
'A moving depiction of the horrible, ungovernable messiness of loss' THE TIMES
'Thought-provoking, charming, cathartic and hilariously vivid' SARAH KNIGHT
'Hilarious, moving and unexpected' REBECCA WAIT
'Daisy writes beautifully...I adored everyone in this novel' JENNIE GODFREY
'I laughed, I cried, I screamed, I devoured every page... a laugh-out-loud balm' NIKKI MAY
'A standout novel - heartbreaking, observant, deeply relatable and impossibly funny' ROSIE WALSH
'Pity Party is perfection' LINDSEY KELK
'Unbelievably good' LUCY VINE
'Buchanan is such a terrific comic writer...A joy to read' THE I
'Daisy Buchanan makes me laugh out loud' KATHERINE HEINY
'Wonderfully funny. Her best book yet' NINA STIBBE
'Crackling with energy, humour, warmth, and quirk' JENNY MUSTARD
'Raw, honest and refreshingly hopeful' HEAT
'Every line in this book is a wonder' CAROLINE CORCORAN
'Moving, funny and wise all at once' KATE RIORDAN
'Smart, sexy, and will grab hold of your heart' JADE BEER
'Nobody writes about the messiness of life like Daisy' JULIE OWEN MOYLAN
'Gloriously readable...I tore through it!' MARINA O'LOUGHLIN
'Original, moving and totally addictive' ROXY BOURDILLON
'An honest, tender, captivating read' THAT'S LIFE magazine
'Daisy Buchanan excels at bringing complex women to life and she's outdone herself...heartbreakingly beautiful' IRISH NEWS

Critics Review

What a read! What a tear jerker! But very funny, and written with such breezy wit, and characters I ADORED. Daisy is EXCELLENT.
Marian Keyes, author of AGAIN, RACHEL
Pity Party is both deeply moving and very funny. A raw, honest exploration of love, loss, and the complexity of grief. I read it in one sitting. I loved it.
Louise O'Neill, author of IDOL
Buchanan is such a terrific comic writer it makes this novel a joy to read.
I magazine
Buchanan's best yet! Every page crackles with wit and every character deserves their own spin-off. As heartening as it is hilarious, Pity Party is a masterful portrait of grief, contemporary wellness culture and the ways we attempt to heal. It's the funniest book you'll read all year, and maybe the most beautiful too.
Lauren Bravo, author of PRELOVED
This is one raw, honest and refreshingly hopeful read
Heat magazine
Full of Daisy's trademark insight, wit, empathy and relatability, Pity Party is the perfect book for anyone who has ever felt as though they've made a mistake. Pity Party is perfection and I will happily devour every word Daisy ever writes.
Lindsey Kelk, author of LOVE ME DO
I adore Daisy's voice - she's genuinely funny and intensely sensitive, no mean feat when the topic is as complicated as grief. I laughed, I cried, I screamed, I devoured every page. And it's stayed with me, I feel restored. Pity Party made me want to be brave. It's a laugh-out-loud balm.
Nikki May, author of WAHALA
An honest, tender, captivating read
Bella
Hilarious, moving and unexpected, PITY PARTY unfolded quite differently to how I was expecting. A lovely funny book.
Rebecca Wait, author of I'M SORRY YOU FEEL THAT WAY
Daisy Buchanan makes me laugh out loud.
Katherine Heiny, author of STANDARD DEVIATION
Pity Party is a standout novel - heartbreaking, observant, deeply relatable and impossibly funny. I laughed and cried and loved every moment. Her best yet; I envy anyone about to begin this wonderful book.
Rosie Walsh, author of THE MAN WHO DIDN'T CALL
Wonderfully funny. Her best book yet.
Nina Stibbe, author of REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
Thought-provoking, charming, cathartic and hilariously vivid. I highlighted a million little passages and sentences and metaphors and jokes. I don't know how Daisy does it, but I'm so glad that she does.
Sarah Knight, author of THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF NOT GIVING A F**K
The funniest novel about grief I've read. A tragi-rom-com dialled up so high it crackles with energy, humour, warmth, and quirk. I breezed through it!
Jenny Mustard, author of OKAY DAYS
Pity Party is genius. It's my perfect book. It's full of light and darkness, it's hilarious and heartbreaking. It reminds me of Rachel's Holiday. It's painfully funny and often painful in an emotional way, but always unbelievably good. This is the best book I've read in ages - and Daisy's best book yet. I want everyone I know to read it so I can spend the next month talking about it. There are so many brilliantly funny moments, and so much to relate to. Katherine is such a likeable heroine - fully well-rounded and real and difficult and weird - but entirely loveable. I want her in my life full time. I really loved loved loved this book.
Lucy Vine, author of SEVEN EXES
The writing is hilariously sharp yet at the same time poignant and heart-rending. Nobody writes about the messiness of life like Daisy. This is her best book yet and I absolutely ADORED it.
Julie Owen Moylan, author of THAT GREEN EYED GIRL
Pity Party is a literary elixir that will lift you up, cheer you up and have you howling page after page. Daisy's writing races along, chapters fly by, it's smart, it's sexy and it will grab hold of your heart. I absolutely loved it. Bravo!
Jade Beer, author of THE LAST DRESS FROM PARIS
In that way that you only experience with the very best writers, every line in this book is a wonder. Daisy made me feel everything. There are silly, laugh-out-loud, proper jokes in there - the setting is perfectly chosen for hilarity - but seconds after snorting over a Humpty Dumpty gag, I would realise tears were running down my face.
Mostly, I thought this was a very unique, very human story. In that way that you also only experience with the very best writers, I drew out the last few pages, knowing I would miss Pity Party in my life and that the next book on my list would have a lot to live up to. Gorgeous.
Caroline Corcoran, author of THROUGH THE WALL
Honestly, it's impossible not to fall for this book, and hard. It manages to be moving, funny and wise all at once, and Katherine is up there with the most lovable of literary heroines.
Kate Riordan, author of THE HEATWAVE
A powerful, riveting and frequently hilarious novel about grief, identity and desire. Pity Party is original, moving and totally addictive. I absolutely loved this gorgeous book!
Roxy Bourdillon, DIVA Magazine
Daisy Buchanan manages to make bereavement not only gloriously readable, but genuinely funny - without losing sight of real emotion. With a relatable heroine and a brilliant supporting cast of characters, this is Daisy's best yet. I tore through it.
Marina O'Loughin, JOURNALIST
Pity Party is neatly done with some chuckles along the way; it's also a rather moving depiction of the horrible, ungovernable messiness of loss.
The Times
Daisy Buchanan excels in bringing complex women to life, and she's outdone herself in the heartbreakingly beautiful Pity Party
Irish News
Daisy writes beautifully and empathetically about real, flawed people and messy lives. I adored everyone in this novel.
Jennie Godfrey, author of THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS
Brilliant characters, a heartfelt story and lots of soul. Daisy's ability to bring characters to life and plot out brilliantly messy storylines is a gift. I loved this book
Fearne Cotton, author of SCRIPTED

More from the same

Author

Narrator

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.