The Pharmacist

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What to expect

A beautifully-written dystopian thriller set in an underground bunker.

The bunker is a place of safety.

Wolfe is the bunker's resident pharmacist. While the inhabitants wait for the outside world to heal, she doles out ibuprofen, sanitary towels and Xanax - all under the watchful eye of the increasingly erratic and paranoid leader.

The bunker is a place of hope.

But when the leader starts to ask things of Wolfe, favours she can hardly say no to, her world is thrown off its axis once again. Forming an unlikely alliance with the young Doctor Stirling, her troubled assistant Levitt, and Canavan - a tattooed giant of a man who's purpose in the bunker is a mystery - Wolfe has to navigate the powder keg of life underground, knowing her every move is being watched.

The bunker is a place of survival.

It's not long before Wolfe is forced to question the sacrifices she's made for her own personal survival, and how much more she is willing to give to stay alive.

The bunker is a place of danger.

(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

A compulsive, claustrophobic but wonderfully compassionate read, beautifully written and set within a brilliantly realised world. Rachelle Atalla is a major talent and I can't wait to see where her mind goes next
Kirstin Innes, author of Scabby Queen
An unflinching portrayal of what we might all be capable of, Atalla's stunning debut is essential reading for our times
Helen Sedgwick, author of Where the Missing Gather
Atalla's speculative literary thriller debut draws you in with its mounting sense of tension, disquiet and desperation
CultureFly
There are shades of George Orwell in this stunning writing debut, but Rachelle Atalla's voice is highly original. And wholly her own
The Herald
This horrendously claustrophobic, utterly absorbing debut. The fiercely controlled narrative beautifully translates the horrendous grip of dismal routines and tiny, stolen pleasures
Daily Mail
Sitting somewhere on the spectrum between Paul Auster's heart-rending In the Country of Last Things and Bong Joon-ho's pulse-thumping film Snowpiercer, The Pharmacist is a slow-burn nightmare about how ordinary human decency gets eroded - and also how it perseveres
The Times
Rachelle Atalla is obviously a talented and gifted writer
On Magazine
Reminiscent of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, this unsettling story is a nightmare for our times of end-of-the-world prepping, increased nuclear insecurity and political inequality
Guardian
A breathtaking, tense debut. *****
The Sun
It's really remarkable how she makes this bland, bleak, limited world so vivid and engrossing
SFX
Rachelle Atalla's debut is a thought-provoking addition to the post-apocalyptic genre
Press Association
The twists and turns in this brilliantly written, post-apocalyptic tale make for compulsive reading
Woman's Weekly
Atalla nails the atmosphere of claustrophobia and brings this world to life convincingly, as well as fostering sympathy for her protagonist, despite her flaws. This debut author is one to watch
The Sunday Times
Dystopian fiction, yes, but so much more. This book forces its readers to consider what it means to be good or evil, what motivates us to act as we do, and what matters to us in the end. A wonderful mix of tense drama and provocative ideas, I loved it
Elissa Soave, author of Ginger and Me
The Pharmacist is the perfect dystopian novel. Post-apocalyptic fiction masterfully handled. Addictive, claustrophobic, tense. I'm obsessed with this novel. Easily in my top reads this year
Chloe Timms, author of The Seawomen
The Pharmacist is a confident debut, in which Rachelle Atalla fully lives up to the promise of her New Writers Award . . . This literary thriller is highly original, asking difficult questions about morality and motherhood. And its claustrophobic atmosphere perfectly reflects the setting.
The List
Rachelle Atalla's elegant debut novel is a compelling account of a society whose rigid inhumanity is pierced with glimmers of hope
Daily Mail
Rachelle Atalla nails the claustrophobic atmosphere and brings this world to life convincingly in her impressive debut
The Sunday Times, PAPERBACK OF THE WEEk
Highly original
The Herald, Best Scottish Books of 2022
This elegant debut novel is a compelling account of a society whose rigid inhumanity is pierced with glimmers of hope
Sunday Mail

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
5.0
5.0
A gripping review of humanity in an inhuman situation.
Allotment 4A 30/03/2024

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