An Unremarkable Body: Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2018: Elisa Lodato - Rilegato

***Shortlisted for the Costa Best First Novel Award 2018***

EVERY MOTHER IS A WOMAN WITH A PAST

'A haunting debut about grief, loss and motherhood' The Pool

'An intriguing tale of love, loss and missed opportunities . . . written with verve and delivers an amazing twist' Sunday Mirror

'Tender and moving, this part-thriller, part-memoir will leave you floored' Emerald Street

When Katharine is found dead at the foot of her stairs, it is the mystery of her life that consumes her daughter, Laura.

The medical examiner's report, in which precious parts of Katharine's body are weighed and categorised, motivates Laura to write her own version of events; to bear witness to the unbearable blank space between each itemised entry.

It forces her to confront a new version of the woman she knew only as her mother - a woman silenced by her own mother, and wronged by her husband. A woman who felt shackled by tradition and unable to love freely.

With the heart of a memoir and the pace of a thriller, An Unremarkable Body reveals an overwhelming desire to make sense of an unfulfilled life - and to prove that an unremarkable body does not mean an unremarkable life.

'Beautiful, sensitive, and poignant' Clarissa Goenawan, author of Rainbirds

'Spare, confident and affecting. A compelling read' Joanna Barnard, author of Precocious and Hush Little Baby

'An incredibly moving story of maternal love, sacrifice, and how little we know those closest to us' Chloë Mayer, author of The Boy Made of Snow