Born Free

Shortlisted for the Whitbread Award: “this bleak tale” of a month in the life of a family struggling with addiction “is a work of considerable force” (The Scotsman, UK).

Punchy, sharp-witted and acutely observed, Born Free tells the story of an ordinary family living in Edinburgh, Scotland, and dealing with their troubles in an all-too ordinary way: each member is trying to escape life—and each other—through his or her drug of choice, whether it’s alcohol, sex, Prozac, or the Internet.

The interactions between parents Angie and Vic, and their teenage children Jake and Joni, reveal a hellish cocktail of mid-life crises and adolescent angst; the savagery of sibling rivalry; the waking nightmare of a marriage gone cold—and the unbridgeable, infernal chasm between the generations. It’s a story of everyday life.

Shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award
Nominated for the Orange Prize
“One of Scotland’s most talented writers.”—Daily Telegraph, UK