Something Like Happiness

by Tom Newlands

Frazer and Caitlin have come a long way without ever leaving their dead-end town. They were teenage sweethearts but years later, life’s got serious: the flat they share is barely habitable, money is tight, and their autistic son is struggling at school.

Caitlin dreams of fresh carpets and clean walls, but for Frazer Apex Court is the only home he has known. It’s where his parents lived and died and where the memory of them remains.

He’s asked Caitlin to marry him twice. She tries to leave most weeks. They still love each other – but is it enough?

Startlingly original, this blistering and timely new novel confirms Tom Newlands as one of the brightest talents of his generation.

Reviews of Something Like Happiness

'Newlands writes beautifully about the small, easily missed moments through which life and love are revealed. A subtle, humane and quietly moving novel' – Nathan Filer

'Something Like Happiness grabbed me from the first sentence. Vividly drawn, affectionate and tender, the characters burst from the page and I wanted to shake them and hug them by turns. A brilliant and compelling portrait of a couple wrestling with the need for change and the comfort of familiarity' – Lucy Apps

'Tom Newlands has done it again. A poignant examination of grief, family and the limits of love in a world working against you. With unstoppable wit and red-hot dialogue, Something Like Happiness effortlessly transports you inside its characters' worlds as they grapple with the lives they inherited and the ones they deserve' – Gab Torr