'An exceptional debut novel ... Hennigan's voice is entirely his own. Original, difficult and revelatory.' The TLS'Heartbreaking yet exhilarating ... Hennigan's unflinching fiction debut channels the entire history of British kitchen-sink realism.' The Irish Times'Stu Hennigan is one of my favourite writers. His voice is unmistakable and always compelling. Keshed, in its presentation of class and fatherhood, displays verve, fearlessness and total commitment to its characters and their world. It's brutal and beautiful.' Wendy Erskine, author of The Benefactors'What a f*****g triumph. Heartbreaking, vicious and so brilliant.' Heidi James, author of The Sound Mirror'Keshed is a novel of fierce power, with a voice that rips from the page. It's propelled by desperate yearnings: for feeling, for connection, for release from the tethers of addiction and trauma, of society and the self. It stares down hopelessness, and bursts with defiant desire.' James Scudamore, Booker Prize-longlisted author of Heliopolis'Keshed hums with the vitality of lived and hard-won experience that only fiction of the most transcendent kind can deliver. Channeling Bukowski, Denis Johnson and Hubert Selby Jr in a Yorkshire patois of brutal authenticity, Stu Hennigan's debut is a howl of remarkable intensity and compassion from the heart of Britain's working-class North.' Lee Brackstone Absolutely extraordinary. It's like reading a Molotov cocktail.' Rose Ruane, Women's Prize-longlisted author of Birding'One of the mightiest books I have ever read - sometimes I wanted to turn away from it but the vortex created is so powerful you cannot escape from it - it is fireworks and pinched flesh and it will not leave you quietly.' Robin Ince 'Profane, darkly funny, and unflinching in its focus on the wreckage of ordinary lives. Hennigan is a voice we need.' Naomi Booth, author of raw content and Exit Management'Timely and urgent. Hennigan is one of the country's finest writers on the confluence of capitalism and class ... a beautiful, visceral, gut-punch of a novel.' Angharad Hampshire, Walter Scott Prize-shortlisted author of The Mare'An incredibly powerful book. Immersive, visceral and compelling.' Mark Bowles, Goldsmiths Prize-shortlisted author of All My Precious Madness'I want to use the words 'gritty and brutal' to describe this phenomenal work but 'beautiful and intricate' need to be alongside them to full do justice to this visceral textual landscape. It's a book that both takes and gives. Like great art.' Juno Roche, author of A Working Class Family Ages Badly'Keshed is brazen in its brutality and its brilliance. Ferocious, fearless, tender and immaculately observed, it's a propulsive, take-no-prisoners masterclass in voice, style and atmosphere.' Jae Auxjere, writer and performer 'Vividly describes the strange beauty, stubborn pride and abject horror of lives brought low and broken.' Rob True, author of In the Shadow of the Phosphorous Dawn 'Keshed is a wild, lyrical, journey through the labyrinth of Northern English working-class culture. A story of escape and belonging, hope and loss, this is a beautiful, blazing debut, burning from first page right to last. Hennigan's language is explosive, Baroque, think Henry Miller meets Jim Cartwright and Violette Leduc with the intelligence of Mark Fisher orchestrating the tune.' Susanna Crossman, author of Home Is Where We Start
