Ruth Brandt’s debut short story collection tackles stubborn, impulsive and adrenaline-seeking human nature. From the formation of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the early life of Turing, to modern day families, Brandt lays bare the social systems and customs we live by.


To read and recognise Brandt’s characters, is to recognise humans are social chameleons – an acknowledgement that through pain, loss and memories of war, we can choose to love and live with abandon.


“Ruth Brandt carries the reader into the dark heart of our shared hopes and fears. Always subtle, with a deft understatement and a pared-back style, these are stories that open up our understanding of how we are. They are quietly unforgettable.” - Jonathan Davidson, poet and memoirist