Tim Lott – författare

Tim Lott's parents, Jack and Jean, met at the Empire Snooker Hall, Ealing, in 1951, in a world that to him now seems 'as strange as China'. In this extraordinarily moving exploration of his parents' lives, his mother's inexplicable suicide in her late fifties and his own bouts of depression, Tim Lott conjures up the pebble-dashed home of his childhood and the rapidly changing landscape of postwar suburban England. It is a story of grief, loss and dislocation, yet also of the power of memory and the bonds of family love.

Tim Lott's parents, Jack and Jean, met at the Empire Snooker Hall, Ealing, in 1951, in a world that to him now seems 'as strange as China'. In this extraordinarily moving exploration of his parents' lives, his mother's inexplicable suicide in her late fifties and his own bouts of depression, Tim Lott conjures up the pebble-dashed home of his childhood and the rapidly changing landscape of postwar suburban England. It is a story of grief, loss and dislocation, yet also of the power of memory and the bonds of family love.

A brilliantly observed story of crises and reconciliations within families and stepfamilies and the conflict between Millennials and their Baby Boomer parents.  Funny, dark, yet limned with hope, Tim Lott returns to a family saga – and social commentary – that began with the award-winning White City Blue, continuing with When We Were Rich. It is a story for everyone trying to make sense of a sharply polarised world where the political has become personal and the personal has become a minefield.  Brighton, December 2019: a teenage girl is on an early morning run along the seafront. In her mind she is running away from something she hates, towards something she fears.  China’s home is with her mother Veronica, her pompous stepfather Silas and his dysfunctional son Mason. Her father, Frankie, is in London, but they have little contact, his entrenched views a provocation to her socially conscious ideals, his Brexit-supporting girlfriend a jealous rival.  Exhausted by family tensions, when China leaves Brighton, her godfather Nodge, Frankie’s best friend, and his husband Owen are her first port of call. But they, too, are beset by domestic conflict. Which leaves only her father to takes her in.   They argue, they spar, the fault lines between them grow wider – and then coronavirus strikes.   Praise for When We Were Rich  ‘A sharp and very funny portrait of a brash era which is also a surprisingly tender take on flawed masculinity’  ― Sarah Hughes, i paper‘What a terrific novel – wickedly sharp, wildly entertaining – I was gripped from start to finish. With its twisty plots and interwoven characters it paints a vivid portrait of a crucial decade. It's laugh-out-loud funny, too. And with property porn thrown in, what's not to like’  ― Deborah Moggach‘Wickedly funny and deeply humane. I loved this book’  ― Sadie Jones‘Tim Lott revisits the years between millennium fever and the financial crisis, and brings this already long-lost era back to life in a novel every bit as evocative and compelling as we would expect from this prodigiously gifted author’ ― Jonathan Coe‘Lott delivers many hilarious and sad scenes of life in a long-term relationship. He also explores the poignancy and fragility of male friendships, in a manner reminiscent of Graham Swift’s Last Orders. . .  [He is,] crucially, careful to linger over moral difficulty and vulnerability rather than evading it’ ― TLS‘Lott’s carefully observed period piece captures the mood of an era that now seems like a lost world’ ― Daily Mail

A brilliantly observed story of crises and reconciliations within families and stepfamilies and the conflict between Millennials and their Baby Boomer parents.  Funny, dark, yet limned with hope, Tim Lott returns to a family saga – and social commentary – that began with the award-winning White City Blue, continuing with When We Were Rich. It is a story for everyone trying to make sense of a sharply polarised world where the political has become personal and the personal has become a minefield. Brighton, December 2019: a teenage girl is on an early morning run along the seafront. In her mind she is running away from something she hates, towards something she fears. China’s home is with her mother Veronica, her pompous stepfather Silas and his dysfunctional son Mason. Her father, Frankie, is in London, but they have little contact, his entrenched views a provocation to her socially conscious ideals, his Brexit-supporting girlfriend a jealous rival. Exhausted by family tensions, when China leaves Brighton, her godfather Nodge, Frankie’s best friend, and his husband Owen are her first port of call. But they, too, are beset by domestic conflict. Which leaves only her father to takes her in.  They argue, they spar, the fault lines between them grow wider – and then coronavirus strikes.  Praise for When We Were Rich ‘A sharp and very funny portrait of a brash era which is also a surprisingly tender take on flawed masculinity’  ― Sarah Hughes, i paper‘What a terrific novel – wickedly sharp, wildly entertaining – I was gripped from start to finish. With its twisty plots and interwoven characters it paints a vivid portrait of a crucial decade. It's laugh-out-loud funny, too. And with property porn thrown in, what's not to like’  ― Deborah Moggach‘Wickedly funny and deeply humane. I loved this book’  ― Sadie Jones‘Tim Lott revisits the years between millennium fever and the financial crisis, and brings this already long-lost era back to life in a novel every bit as evocative and compelling as we would expect from this prodigiously gifted author’ ― Jonathan Coe‘Lott delivers many hilarious and sad scenes of life in a long-term relationship. He also explores the poignancy and fragility of male friendships, in a manner reminiscent of Graham Swift’s Last Orders. . .  [He is,] crucially, careful to linger over moral difficulty and vulnerability rather than evading it’ ― TLS‘Lott’s carefully observed period piece captures the mood of an era that now seems like a lost world’ ― Daily Mail

A brilliantly observed story of crises and reconciliations within families and stepfamilies and the conflict between Millennials and their Baby Boomer parents.  Funny, dark, yet limned with hope, Tim Lott returns to a family saga – and social commentary – that began with the award-winning White City Blue, continuing with When We Were Rich. It is a story for everyone trying to make sense of a sharply polarised world where the political has become personal and the personal has become a minefield.  Brighton, December 2019: a teenage girl is on an early morning run along the seafront. In her mind she is running away from something she hates, towards something she fears.  China’s home is with her mother Veronica, her pompous stepfather Silas and his dysfunctional son Mason. Her father, Frankie, is in London, but they have little contact, his entrenched views a provocation to her socially conscious ideals, his Brexit-supporting girlfriend a jealous rival.  Exhausted by family tensions, when China leaves Brighton, her godfather Nodge, Frankie’s best friend, and his husband Owen are her first port of call. But they, too, are beset by domestic conflict. Which leaves only her father to takes her in.   They argue, they spar, the fault lines between them grow wider – and then coronavirus strikes.   Praise for When We Were Rich  ‘A sharp and very funny portrait of a brash era which is also a surprisingly tender take on flawed masculinity’  ― Sarah Hughes, i paper‘What a terrific novel – wickedly sharp, wildly entertaining – I was gripped from start to finish. With its twisty plots and interwoven characters it paints a vivid portrait of a crucial decade. It's laugh-out-loud funny, too. And with property porn thrown in, what's not to like’  ― Deborah Moggach‘Wickedly funny and deeply humane. I loved this book’  ― Sadie Jones‘Tim Lott revisits the years between millennium fever and the financial crisis, and brings this already long-lost era back to life in a novel every bit as evocative and compelling as we would expect from this prodigiously gifted author’ ― Jonathan Coe‘Lott delivers many hilarious and sad scenes of life in a long-term relationship. He also explores the poignancy and fragility of male friendships, in a manner reminiscent of Graham Swift’s Last Orders. . .  [He is,] crucially, careful to linger over moral difficulty and vulnerability rather than evading it’ ― TLS‘Lott’s carefully observed period piece captures the mood of an era that now seems like a lost world’ ― Daily Mail

A Simon & Schuster audiobook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every listener.

A Simon & Schuster audiobook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every listener.

Award-winning author Tim Lott's inspirational tale of a girl who risks everything in pursuit of justice.The smartly painted exterior of the City Community Faith School hides a disturbing secret. Behind its walls, one thousand girls are forced to labour in the city's laundry, separated from their families and deprived of their freedom. One of these girls is Little Fearless, a courageous spirit who never gives up hope that one day they will be rescued. Unafraid of the punishment she will face, Little Fearless escapes the institute to tell her story to the world. But why does nobody believe she's telling the truth?

Award-winning author Tim Lott's inspirational tale of a girl who risks everything in pursuit of justice.The smartly painted exterior of the City Community Faith School hides a disturbing secret. Behind its walls, one thousand girls are forced to labour in the city's laundry, separated from their families and deprived of their freedom. One of these girls is Little Fearless, a courageous spirit who never gives up hope that one day they will be rescued. Unafraid of the punishment she will face, Little Fearless escapes the institute to tell her story to the world. But why does nobody believe she's telling the truth?

It was the 13th of September, 13 days after my 13th birthday, when I first learned how to be invisible.Strato Nyman couldn’t be more of an odd-one-out. He’s the only black kid in Hedgecombe-upon-Dray, he knows more about particle physics than his teacher, and he’s constantly picked on by school bully Lloyd Archibald Turnbull. It’s only at home that he blends in to the background – his parents are too busy arguing to notice he exists. But one day, Strato picks up a dusty old book in a mysterious bookshop and learns how to become invisible. He soon discovers that people aren’t always what they seem … and realizes standing out isn’t so bad after all.

It was the 13th of September, 13 days after my 13th birthday, when I first learned how to be invisible.Strato Nyman couldn’t be more of an odd-one-out. He’s the only black kid in Hedgecombe-upon-Dray, he knows more about particle physics than his teacher, and he’s constantly picked on by school bully Lloyd Archibald Turnbull. It’s only at home that he blends in to the background – his parents are too busy arguing to notice he exists. But one day, Strato picks up a dusty old book in a mysterious bookshop and learns how to become invisible. He soon discovers that people aren’t always what they seem … and realizes standing out isn’t so bad after all.

The brilliant new novel from the author of The Last Summer of the Water Strider ‘A sharp and very funny portrait of a brash era which is also a surprisingly tender take on flawed masculinity.’ Sarah Hughes, i paper ‘What a terrific novel - wickedly sharp, wildly entertaining - I was gripped from start to finish. With its twisty plots and interwoven characters it paints a vivid portrait of a crucial decade. It's laugh-out-loud funny, too. And with property porn thrown in, what's not to like’ Deborah MoggachMillennium Eve and six people gather on a London rooftop. Recently married, Frankie Blue watches with his wife, Veronica, as the sky above the Thames explodes into a kaleidoscope of light. His childhood companion, Colin, ineptly flirts with Roxy, an unlikely first date, while another old friend, Nodge, newly ‘out’, hides his insecurities from his waspish boyfriend.   New Labour are at their zenith. The economy booms, awash with cheap credit. The arrival of the smartphone heralds the sudden and vast expansion of social media. Mass immigration from Eastern Europe leave many unsettled while religious extremism threatens violent conflict.   An estate agent in a property boom, Frankie is focused simply on getting rich. But can he survive the coming crash? And what will become  of his friends - and his marriage - as they are scoured by the winds of change?  When We Were Rich finds the characters introduced in Tim Lott's award-winning 1999 debut, White City Blue, struggling to make sense of a new era. Sad, shocking and often hilarious, it is an acutely observed novel of all our lives, set during what was for some a golden time - and for others a nightmare, from which we are yet to wake up. ‘Wickedly funny and deeply humane. I loved this book’ Sadie Jones 'Tim Lott revisits the years between millennium fever and the financial crisis, and brings this already long-lost era back to life in a novel every bit as evocative and compelling as we would expect from this prodigiously gifted author’ Jonathan Coe Praise for The Last Summer of the Water Strider: 'I was very moved by The Last Summer of the Water Strider, which is both exquisitely specific to time and place and universal in its examination of humanity, grief and the bizarre prisons that people build for themselves - and one another. Funny, fascinating, mysterious and provocative' Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast'Great storytelling and superb characterisation. Very few writers can evoke quintessential Englishness in its myriad forms like Tim Lott. I loved it' Irvine Welsh'Lott is excellent when it comes to the psychology of a grieving adolescent' Observer

The brilliant new novel from the author of The Last Summer of the Water Strider‘A sharp and very funny portrait of a brash era which is also a surprisingly tender take on flawed masculinity.’ Sarah Hughes, i paper‘What a terrific novel - wickedly sharp, wildly entertaining - I was gripped from start to finish. With its twisty plots and interwoven characters it paints a vivid portrait of a crucial decade. It's laugh-out-loud funny, too. And with property porn thrown in, what's not to like’ Deborah MoggachMillennium Eve and six people gather on a London rooftop. Recently married, Frankie Blue watches with his wife, Veronica, as the sky above the Thames explodes into a kaleidoscope of light. His childhood companion, Colin, ineptly flirts with Roxy, an unlikely first date, while another old friend, Nodge, newly ‘out’, hides his insecurities from his waspish boyfriend.  New Labour are at their zenith. The economy booms, awash with cheap credit. The arrival of the smartphone heralds the sudden and vast expansion of social media. Mass immigration from Eastern Europe leave many unsettled while religious extremism threatens violent conflict.  An estate agent in a property boom, Frankie is focused simply on getting rich. But can he survive the coming crash? And what will become  of his friends - and his marriage - as they are scoured by the winds of change?  When We Were Rich finds the characters introduced in Tim Lott's award-winning 1999 debut, White City Blue, struggling to make sense of a new era. Sad, shocking and often hilarious, it is an acutely observed novel of all our lives, set during what was for some a golden time - and for others a nightmare, from which we are yet to wake up.‘Wickedly funny and deeply humane. I loved this book’ Sadie Jones‘Tim Lott revisits the years between millennium fever and the financial crisis, and brings this already long-lost era back to life in a novel every bit as evocative and compelling as we would expect from this prodigiously gifted author’ Jonathan CoePraise for The Last Summer of the Water Strider:'I was very moved by The Last Summer of the Water Strider, which is both exquisitely specific to time and place and universal in its examination of humanity, grief and the bizarre prisons that people build for themselves - and one another. Funny, fascinating, mysterious and provocative' Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast'Great storytelling and superb characterisation. Very few writers can evoke quintessential Englishness in its myriad forms like Tim Lott. I loved it' Irvine Welsh'Lott is excellent when it comes to the psychology of a grieving adolescent' Observer

Winner of the 1999 Whitbread First Novel Award   ‘Beautiful and brilliant’ Tony Parsons   Estate agent Frankie Blue is known on his home turf – White City, Shepherd’s Bush – as ‘Frank the Fib’. He’s a liar – but one who always tries to tell the truth. Frankie has been friends with Diamond Tony, a hairdresser, Colin, a computer nerd, and Nodge, a cabbie, since schooldays.   Now they are thirty and trying to live the same life as they did then – drinking, girls, banter, football. Then comes Frankie’s Great Betrayal – Veronica, and marriage, his ticket to a bigger, better grown-up world. From the moment he tells his mates, the whole patchwork of their friendships begins to collapse – revealing the sad, shocking but often hilarious truths that lie underneath. ‘Caustically funny and sometimes very affecting … with sardonic wit and a kind of tough tenderness, Lott portrays people growing up, growing apart or growing together’ Sunday Times   ‘Mordantly funny … Observations are vivid, the dialogue crisp and, crucially, the characters are sympathetic’ Tatler

Yes! No! But Wait…! is the most straightforward book on writing a novel ever published.It is also the most practical, honest and useful.Tim Lott admits he can’t teach someone how to write a novel (that’s one of the myths propagated by the novel-writing industry).But he can help anyone construct a solid platform on which they can stand to discover whether they have the talent, will and imagination required of any novelist.A distillation of a lifetime’s reading, writing and thinking about stories and how to tell them, Yes! No! But Wait…! is the one book any aspiring author needs.

Yes! No! But Wait…! is the most straightforward book on writing a novel ever published.It is also the most practical, honest and useful.Tim Lott admits he can''t teach someone how to write a novel (that''s one of the myths propagated by the novel-writing industry).But he can help anyone construct a solid platform on which they can stand to discover whether they have the talent, will and imagination required of any novelist.A distillation of a lifetime''s reading, writing and thinking about stories and how to tell them, Yes! No! But Wait…! is the one book any aspiring author needs.

When two brothers take a road trip to visit their ill father, their journey reveals, not only an unexpected friendship, but also some surprising truth It is late summer 2008 and forty-year-old Salinger Nash, who has been plagued since adolescence by a mercurial depression, leaves the north-west London house he shares with girlfriend for his older brother, Carson''s home in New Orleans. It is Carson who has persuaded Salinger that they should visit their estranged father on his deathbed in Las Cruces, and use it as an opportunity to heal old wounds. However it is with a sense of foreboding that Salinger sets off with his brother on a road trip from New Orleans in Carson''s prized brand new Lexus, as their relationship is far from amicable. Tender, funny, unflinching, this is a road trip story in the great American literary tradition and an exploration of sibling rivalry that harks back to Cain and Abel. It is a vivid glimpse of a country through the eyes of an outsider, a profound exploration of brotherhood and a gripping journey of the soul. ''With its tender, funny, unflinchingly exploration of sibling rivalry, this is a vivid glimpse of a country through the eyes of an outsider, a profound exploration of brotherhood and a gripping journey of the soul'' - GQ ''There is a tragic rejection at the heart of the story. Lott is attempting to solve what he sees as a deep-rooted crime against humanity, excavating the blank spaces beneath the rawness of everyday life'' - Independent ''Under the Same Stars, a tender-hearted novel of sibling rivalries, is no less memorable than his family memoir The Scent of Dried Roses'' - Spectator

A captivating 1970s-set novel that is both a coming-of-age and an End-of-an-Age story: about love, the lure of idealism, innocence and decadence. Adam is seventeen, the only son of straitlaced, cautious Ray and Evie.Life is slow, unbearably routine, in their low-rise council block in the London suburbs, until tragedy strikes, leaving Adam unhinged with grief. Rejecting any consolation at home, Adam is sent to spend the long hot 1970s summer with Ray''s unlikely brother, the enigmatic Dr Henry Templeton - guru and spiritual teacher. With few possessions and even fewer ambitions for his future, Adam arrives at his uncle''s houseboat in the West Country. Henry is charismatic, unfamiliar, full of eccentric ideas and projects. As the summer unspools, Adam meets first Strawberry, an ethereal American girl living in a shack in the woods; and then Ashley, whose father, the local vicar, is locked in conflict with Henry and his circle''s ''alternative'' way of life. While Adam falls under the spell of pretty, knowing Ashley, Henry, set on pursuing his personal vision unbendingly, seals the shocking fate of Strawberry, Adam and ultimately himself. ''I was very moved by The Last Summer of the Water Strider, which is both exquisitely specific to time and place and universal in its examination of humanity, grief and the bizarre prisons that people build for themselves - and one another. Funny, fascinating, mysterious and provocative'' Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast''Great storytelling and superb characterisation. Very few writers can evoke quintessential Englishness in its myriad forms like Tim Lott. I loved it'' Irvine Welsh