Brat

Rebecca Smith writer, author, novelist, Jane Austen, UK

The first novel by Gabriel Smith (Rebecca’s eldest child) will be published in the UK and USA on June 6th – a lovely piece of synchronicity as that is also the eightieth birthday of Gabriel’s grandmother, novelist Shena Mackay. Brat is already getting great reviews: “Smith’s picaresque first novel is told from the perspective of Gabriel, a writer struggling with numerous issues . . . a deeply gothic work that never quite settles the reader in a certain world as Gabriel’s foibles, ghostly visions, and uncertainties filter every moment. Written in short, clipped chapters and featuring uproarious dialogue (especially with Gabriel’s brother), this is a darkly comic and brilliantly unusual debut.”  – Booklist.