Something to Live For

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

Listen to a sample

What to expect

'A perfect, quirky summer page-turner. A life-affirming debut' The Sunday Times
'Funny, moving and thought-provoking - I loved this' Clare Mackintosh
'If you loved Eleanor Oliphant, try this brilliant new read' Fabulous

The most uplifting story of the summer - about Andrew, who has forgotten how to live, and Peggy, who helps him remember...

-------------------------

MEET ANDREW.

Everybody likes Andrew. But they don't really know him.

They know what he's told them - that he's happily married with two kids. Living the kind of life that's either so boring it's true, or so perfect it's a lie . . .

ENTER PEGGY.

Peggy arrives in Andrew's life in a burst of kindness and possibility. For the first time in ages, Andrew feels alive again. So now that he has everything to lose, can he risk it all and tell Peggy the truth?

A big-hearted story about love, loneliness, and the importance of taking a chance when we feel we have the most to lose.

-------------------------

See what everyone is saying about this summer's most uplifting bestseller!



'A magnificent read. Tender, funny, compelling' Lucy Foley

'Funny, moving and thought-provoking - I loved this' Clare Mackintosh

'I adored this! It warmed my heart, broke it a little, then put it back together' Beth O'Leary

'Funny, moving and uplifting...I loved it' Libby Page

'Heart-breaking. Hilarious. Life-affirming' Holly Bourne

'A life-affirming novel that simultaneously tweaks your funny-bone and tugs at your heartstrings. Brilliant!' Matt Dunn

'It pulls you in, makes you laugh and breaks your heart' Gill Hornby

'Endearing, funny and life-affirming, with a perfect dose of loneliness and human kindness' Caroline Smailes

'Wryly funny and quirkily charming - perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' Eleanor Brown

'A beautiful, heart-warming laugh out loud story' Dinah Jefferies

Critics Review

The story Roper tells is a charming, humorous and life-affirming tale about human kindness that strikes a chord in a world where loneliness is a growing problem.

BBC NEWS ONLINE, Best Fiction of 2019

If you loved Eleanor Oliphant, try this brilliant new read… We completely fell in love with this funny, uplifting debut.

FABULOUS

I loved this novel with my whole heart.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Endearing and delightful.

PRIMA

This perfect, quirky summer page-turner… a life-affirming debut.

SUNDAY TIMES STYLE

This is a story that gets under your skin – and a must read.

THE SUN

A wonderful debut that’s heartbreaking, uplifting and laugh-out-loud funny… an inspiring, life-affirming read.

WOMAN'S WEEKLY

Something To Live For is a heart-warming, funny yet poignant debut novel. Exploring loneliness and family breakdown, Richard Roper has created a cast of colourful and weirdly wonderful characters. An uplifting and life-affirming read.

DAILY EXPRESS

Eleanor Oliphant for men

EVENING STANDARD

This could almost be the tie-in novel for a Richard Curtis romcom… Something To Live For benefits from the same earnest charm.

GQ

Richard Roper’s debut is heart-breaking, uplifting, funny and brimming with human kindness.

SUNDAY HERALD

It’s no surprise that TV rights to this funny, tender and all-the-feels book have already been snapped up.

RED

A wonderful debut that’s heartbreaking, uplifting and laugh-out-loud funny all at once.

WOMAN'S OWN

A sweetly poignant debut.

SUNDAY EXPRESS S MAGAZINE

A poignant but uplifting novel that’s related with great compassion and humour.

DAILY MAIL

Endearing.

SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE

A poignant, superbly funny debut novel about love, loneliness and the many ways life doesn’t always go to plan.

WATERSTONES

Funny, moving and thought-provoking – I loved this.

Clare Mackintosh

Tender, funny, compelling – this wonderful book deserves to be huge!

Lucy Foley, author of THE HUNTING PARTY

Like everyone else, I completely fell under its spell. It pulls you in, makes you laugh and breaks your heart – in short, does everything that you want a novel to do. Every character is round and real – from dear old Andrew, through the wonderful Peggy – oh, Peggy! – to the anonymous woman in the cloud of perfume who lives downstairs. While it is very much in the David Nicholls’ tradition of sympathetic quirk and comedy, it is, at the same time, so fresh and different. I loved the voice, the people, the world….. Who couldn’t? What an extraordinary debut.

Gill Hornby

Just finished Something To Live For with tears running down my cheeks. Heart-breaking. Hilarious. Life-affirming. Some descriptions of loneliness took my breath away. This book deserves to be HUGE.

Holly Bourne

Warmed my heart, broke it a little, then put it back together

Beth O'Leary, bestselling author of the THE FLATSHARE

Nick Hornby and David Nicholls’ quirky love child would write like Richard Roper. Something to Live For is endearing, funny and life-affirming, with a perfect dose of loneliness and human kindness

Caroline Smailes

Funny, moving and uplifting… I loved it.

Libby Page, author of THE LIDO

Wryly funny and quirkily charming – perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Eleanor Brown, author of The Weird Sisters

A definite contender for my book of the year . . . funny, heartbreaking and cleverly observed

Claire Frost

A life-affirming novel that simultaneously tweaks your funny-bone and tugs at your heartstrings. Brilliant!

Matt Dunn

[An] off-beat and winning debut…, [Something To Live For] earns its pathos. Even more to its credit, it gives resiliency and the triumph of the human spirit a good name.

WALL STREET JOURNAL

Gentle comedy and these characters’ innately kind natures enriches what might have been starkly sad moments… [Roper] admirably tackles a painful subject with goodhearted characters it’s easy to root for.

USA TODAY

Darkly humorous.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Roper’s delightful debut is as funny as it is touching… This story of a neurotic, tenderhearted man struggling to learn how not to be alone is irresistible.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Tragic, sweet, and hopeful… This novel will appeal to fans of Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

BOOKLIST

Quirky and heartfelt… Andrew’s past traumas are revealed gradually, and the reasons behind his isolation are heartbreaking and poignant. A moving and funny look at grief, hope, and the power of human connections.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Life-affirming…moments of hilarity while conveying a message about stepping out of comfort zones

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

Richard Roper has crafted a compelling mystery in this clever and uplifting debut… Something to Live For is a story about the problems we encounter as human beings and the connections that save us.

IRISH TIMES

A beautiful, heart-warming laugh out loud story.

Dinah Jefferies via Twitter

This magnificent debut is a must for your summer reading list – heartbreaking, funny and tender, it has it all!

MY WEEKLY

As hilarious as it is heart-breaking… a truly memorable and quirky read: unusual and sometimes side-splittingly funny.

THE LADY

About xigxag

Enjoy the best audiobooks on xigxag, an innovative, user-friendly audiobook platform that makes it easy to find, purchase, and enjoy your favorite books in audio format. xigxag’s flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less – affordable prices and the best audiobook deals with no subscription required.  Give the perfect gift with our audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

xigxag’s commitment to sustainability and ethical practices ensures a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform – an exciting alternative to big tech.  Enjoy audiobooks from the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service and a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Search effortlessly, read honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the book and the narration, and discover hidden gems.  Download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere and get the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app.  Experience the future of audiobooks today.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.