Luminous' Observer 'A stunning new voice in British literary fiction' Independent 'Lyrically
poetic' Evening Standard 'Sublime.' Daisy Johnson When Lucy wins a place at university she
thinks London will unlock her future. It is a city alive with pop up bars cool girls and neon
lights illuminating the Thames at night. At least this is what Lucy expects having grown up
seemingly a world away in working-class Sunderland amid legendary family stories of Irish
immigrants and boarding houses now defunct ice rinks and an engagement ring at a fish market.
Yet Lucy's transition to a new life is more overwhelming than she ever expected. As she works
long shifts to make ends meet and navigates chaotic parties from East London warehouses to
South Kensington mansions she still feels like an outsider among her fellow students. When
things come to a head at her graduation Lucy takes off for Ireland seeking solace in her late
grandfather's cottage and the wild landscape that surrounds it wondering if she can piece
together who she really is. Lyrical and boundary-breaking Saltwater explores the complexities
of mother-daughter relationships the challenges of shifting class identity and the way that
the strongest feelings of love can be the hardest to define.
