SuePeebles by scottishbookawards

In Sue Peebles’ novel The Death of Lomond Friel (Vintage), Rosie, a successful radio presenter, hears that her father has had a stroke and finds herself making reckless decisions that make little sense to those around her. As she strives towards building some kind of future for herself and her father, he quietly plots his own death . . .

Set on the east coast of Scotland, the novel covers events in the weeks following the stroke and the lives of this small cast of captivating but very real characters. Exploring the impact of memory and conscience, it tackles a family at a time of crisis, delving into the complexities of emotions and family history with compassion, humour and grace. In subtle, distinctive prose, alive with wit and verve, Sue Peebles has written a captivating, lovable and unusual novel – a domestic canvas where every detail counts.

Reviews

“The delicacy and care with which [Peebles] draws the stricken Lomond is the outstanding feat of this ambitious work, and reveals subtle empathy with those felled by their own bodies.” – The Herald

“Peebles’s debut moved me because of my own personal experience of a loved one suffering a stroke. But it also moved me because of the beauty of the language and its psychological intelligence.” – The Scotsman

“Peebles’s prose is consistently startling – there isn’t an ordinary or hackneyed sentence or sentiment in the book.” – The Telegraph

“To say that Sue Peebles writes with grace and insight about a family in crisis would be an understatement.” – The Metro

Link to a new piece by Sue Peebles on the Vintage Books blog “I Thought I Could Swim”

Read a new piece by Sue Peebles on winning the First Book Award.