It’s Belletrist’s book club pick for June (I’ll be doing an Instagram Live with them on 6 June), and on Thursday 4 June I’ll be live on a Canadian TV breakfast show (remotely!). There are lots of podcast interviews about to pop up, but you can already listen to me chatting to Horror in the Margins. Also on Thursday 4 June, I have a US online launch event at 6pm EDT, which is free to attend, you just need to sign up here.
I hope you enjoy the book if you pick it up, and if you see it in any Canadian or US bookstores, take a picture and let me know.
1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system, sixteen-year-old Ursula finds herself with a new job delivering mail at a local art school, a bed in a halfway house, and—delightfully— some new friends, including wild-child, Sue. When Ursula is invited to join a squat at the Underwood, a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end, she can’t resist this hodgepodge family. But as Sue’s behavior and demands become more extreme, Ursula who has always been hungry—for food—and more importantly for love, acceptance and belonging carries out her friend’s terrible dare. And, for this, Ursula finds herself haunted—literally haunted.
Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned, reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by true-crime documentary-maker, Emma Zahini who is digging into an unsolved disappearance. But it is not only the filmmaker who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts, and as her past catches up with her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without.
From critically acclaimed and award-winning author, Claire Fuller, Hunger and Thirst is a compelling and chilling tale of loneliness and female friendship, of the dangerous line between wanting and needing, and of how far a person will go to truly belong.
I have only lived in two places that were difficult to inhabit but both are still very vivid. The first was when I was six, and my family lived in a static caravan (or trailer in the US) for six months. I can’t claim that we were living there because of any kind of hardship, but I clearly remember the ice on the insides of the windows in the mornings, having to wash at the sink with freezing water, and a very particular smell of damp cardboard walls. The second place was a squat when I was an art student. Living there was my choice, although money was tight. This house was damp too: a 1950s bungalow with no central heating and single-pane windows. It sat in the middle of an overgrown garden, isolated, despite being near the centre of town. One of my clearest memories from that time is being told about how one night before I arrived someone outside – an unidentified stranger – moved around the perimeter of the house tapping on each of the windows in the dark.*
I am still drawn to places that don’t welcome humans; places where people have once lived and now have left. I am curious about the objects they leave behind, and the bare minimum a person needs in order to make a house a home. Or, sometimes, the maximum.
In my fourth novel, Unsettled Ground, the main characters Jeanie and Julius live in what might appear to be an idyllic home: an English thatched cottage. But the reality is very different to the vision. There are mice in the thatch and holes in the ceilings which let the rain in. When Jeanie’s and Julius’s electricity goes off they have to use oil lamps and candles, and cook on an old range. They have no central heating and an outside toilet. And the next place they try to make home is a dilapidated caravan on a piece of wasteland. But they are resourceful people and make the best of what they’ve got.
What about you? What kind of place could you tolerate if you had to? Could you make a home out of other people’s junk? Could you live in an office?
Here are seven novels I love with houses that most of us might consider uninhabitable:
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Cassandra lives in a crumbling castle with her father, sister and stepmother. At some times of the day, especially in a dusky kind of afternoon light when it can’t be seen properly, the castle appears romantic and beautiful. But in her diary Cassandra wittily records the reality of the place: the icy draughts, how her father has sold off most of the furniture, the smelly, muddy moat and how she has to take a hot brick to bed so as to keep warm at night.
The Paper House by Carlos Maria Dominguez, translated by Nick Caistor
A Cambridge academic is killed by a car while walking and reading Emily Dickinson. Her successor receives a book intended for his late colleague which is covered in cement, and intrigued, he travels to Uruguay and eventually to a remote and desolate beach. There he finds a ruined house made of books. Whose crazy idea was that, anyway? “What remained of the walls were bowed, jagged fragments, and in among the clumps of cement, tiny seashells, and dark lichens, I could make out pages of books baked in the sun then soaked, glued together like cuttlefish beaks, the type bleached and illegible.”
Burning Bright by Ron Rash
In this book of a dozen short stories, there’s just one with a house I wouldn’t want to live in, but a year after reading it, the place is still in my head. In Back of Beyond, Parson a pawnbroker, goes out to his brother’s place because he knows that his nephew, Danny, has been selling stolen items to fund his meths habit. But it’s not until Parson gets there that he discovers his brother and sister-in-law huddling in a freezing trailer and Danny living in the family home: “The room had been stripped of anything that could be sold, the only furnishing left a couch pulled up by the fireplace. Even wallpaper had been torn off a wall. The odour of meth infiltrated everything, coated the walls and floor.”
Resin by Ane Riel translated by Charlotte Barslund
Jens Horder is literally a hoarder – his house and outside yard is filled with stuff, so that it is almost impossible to move safely between the piles. Jens reports to the authorities that his six-year-old daughter, Liv is missing presumed dead, even while he knows she is hiding in a container in his yard. Liv sometimes goes inside the house to visit her bed-bound mother who has also become part of the junk and mess: “Shiny blue-green flies buzzed around open cans. Faded butterflies bashed their brown wings against the windowpanes somewhere behind all the stuff…. Small mice and much bigger mice with very long tails. Something was always scratching, grunting or squeaking somewhere. At times it would be Mum.”
Severance by Ling Ma
After a virus wipes out much of the world’s population, Candace, alone in New York but feeling she should still go to work, moves into her company’s office on the 31st floor of a skyscraper. She takes food from the employee’s vending machine and smashes her way into her boss’s office to sleep on his Mies van der Rohe sofa. It almost sounds idyllic: she sees a horse trot down Broadway and the stars in the night sky for the first time … if it weren’t of course for the plague and being all alone.
Stig of the Dump by Clive King
One day at the end of his grandmother’s garden, Barney falls into a disused chalk pit where he meets Stig, a caveman. Stig, well ahead of his time (this children’s novel was first published in 1963) reuses old junk to make his ‘cave’ house. “There were stones and bones, fossils and bottles, skins and tins, stacks of sticks and hanks of string.” Stig of the Dump is one of my earliest memories of owning a book, and I still have a copy.
Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
Sixteen-year-old Franklin doesn’t really know his father Eldon, but when he is called to visit the dying man, and ultimately help him make a final journey to the backcountry, he goes. Eldon is living in the most evocatively described flophouse. “Clothes had been flung and were scattered every which way along with empty fast-food boxes and old newspapers… the hot plate was crusted with grease and dribbles, and a coffee can overflowed with butts and ashes and a few jelly jars stuffed full of the same.” A place not even Eldon wants to die in.
* This story became one of the inspirations for my sixth novel, Hunger and Thirst (which features this bungalow, uninhabitable for reasons you’ll have to read the book to find out) which will be published in the US in June 2026, and in the UK in May. Both available to pre-order now.
Are you stuck on what you should read next? Perhaps you know what you like and you’re looking for a similar book, or you want to read something completely different. Or maybe you need something different from the bestsellers that the big booksellers chuck at you. Don’t worry – I can help!
In my next newsletter I’ll be starting a Recommended Reads section. Subscribers will be able to ask me for a book recommendation either for themselves or for a friend that they want to buy a book for. If you’re not already a subscriber that’s no problem – just sign up here.
I’ll be picking one subscriber each newsletter and making some suggestions on what books they might like to try, which will hopefully guide other people to fiction and non-fiction isn’t as well known as the books everyone else is reading.
To kick off the first Recommended Reads section, I’d love a new subscriber to let me know what kind of next read they’d like. If you’d like me to recommend a read or two to you in my next newsletter, then just subscribe here, and send me a message with what you’re looking for*. (Please include as much or as little information on what you like to read, what you don’t, what you’re in the mood for next, fiction or non-fiction, or something about the person you need to buy a book for.)
* I’ll only be recommending books for adults, since I don’t generally read books for children or YA.
It’s been ten years since my first novel, Our Endless Numbered Days was published on 26th February 2015 in the UK, quickly followed by the US and Canada, and then around the world – currently sixteen territories. It’s hard to comprehend how much my working life has changed in those years: I gave up the ‘day job’ to write full time, and have written another five novels, and lots of short stories. Writing has introduced me to many new people (publishing people, booksellers and writers are very lovely people) some of whom have become close friends, and it has taken me to many places in the UK and the rest of the world. It hasn’t all been perfect but mostly it’s been an amazing ten years. Scroll down to see some pictures.
Win a signed copy of Our Endless Numbered Days
To win a signed copy of Our Endless Numbered Days – posted anywhere in the world – visit my Instagram account and follow the instructions on my most recent post. You can also enter simply by signing up to my newsletter here.
Buy a copy of Our Endless Numbered Days
This link will take you to purchase options for the UK and the US. And by the way, it makes a great book club book with lots to discuss. If you do decide to read it, get in touch and I’ll send you some book club questions.
Read This: Books under the Radar is a weekly post written by a guest author – often a friend of mine, someone I’ve met on my writerly travels, or an author I admire who recommends three books they think deserve more recognition. If you’re interested in buying any of the books, please click on the covers and give these hidden gems some love.
Read This: Clare Mackintosh
Clare Mackintosh is a writer I hugely admire: not just for her terrific novels (and I am very much looking forward to reading her latest book which is a memoir) but also for her self-promotion. If that seems like a strange thing to admire, let me say that most authors need to get a little better at this – publishers only have so much time and resources so we need to do it ourselves without embarrassment. But Clare isn’t just about pushing her own books; she’s also incredibly supportive of others – one of the reasons why she agreed to give me her choices for Books under the Radar. Here’s a bit more about her:
Clare Mackintosh is the multi-award-winning author of seven novels, including the global bestseller I Let You Go and the critically acclaimed DC Ffion Morgan series. Her books have sold more than two million copies and been translated into 40 languages. Together, they have spent more than 65 weeks in the Sunday Times top ten. In 2024, she released a memoir, I Promise it Won’t Always Hurt Like This, based on her experiences of grief following the death of her son.
You can find her on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok as @claremackwrites
Read This: Books under the Radar is a weekly post written by a guest author – often a friend of mine, someone I’ve met on my writerly travels, or an author I admire who recommends three books they think deserve more recognition. If you’re interested in buying any of the books, please click on the covers and give these hidden gems some love.
Read This: Vanessa Harbour
Vanessa is one of those lovely writers I seem to have known forever, often popping up at my local independent book shop, at other authors’ launches and events. She is incredibly supportive and encouraging of other authors and she must make the most wonderful mentor. Here’s what she has to say about herself:
Vanessa Harbour is a disabled author and Programme Leader of the BA in Creative Writing at the University of Winchester. She has also mentored aspiring writers for many years, acting as editor and workshop leader. History fascinates her. Her novels Flight and Safe combine her passion for horses and the Second World War. She loves to use words to paint pictures through storytelling. Follow Vanessa on Instagram.
All three of the books I’ve chose have something in common. They’re driven by characters and family whether the one you’re born into or the one you create around you.
Read This is a weekly post written by a guest author – often a friend of mine, or someone I’ve met on my writerly travels, who recommends three books they think deserve more recognition. If you’re interested in buying any of the books, please click on the covers and give these hidden gems some love.
Read This: Gina Chung
Gina and I met when we were put together because we’d both written books that featured octopuses – hers being the wonderful Sea Change, about a woman called Ro whose only real friend is a Pacific Octopus called Delores. She interviewed me about mine – The Memory of Animals at McNally Jackson, a gorgeous bookshop in New York. Here’s what she has to say about herself:
Gina Chung is a Korean American writer from New Jersey currently living in New York City. She is the author of the novel Sea Change, which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, a 2023 B&N Discover Pick, an APALA Adult Fiction Honor Book, and a New York Times Most Anticipated Book, and the short story collection Green Frog, which was a Good Morning America Book Buzz Pick. A recipient of the Pushcart Prize, she is a 2021-2022 Center for Fiction/Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellow and holds an MFA in fiction from The New School.
Read This is a weekly post written by a guest author – often a friend of mine, someone I’ve met on my writerly travels, or an author I admire who recommends three books* they think deserve more recognition. If you’re interested in buying any of the books, please click on the covers and give these hidden gems some love.
Read This: Lindsay Hunter
Lindsay and I met in 2023 when she interviewed me about my novel, The Memory of Animals as part of the US book tour for the book, at the wonderful bookshop in Chicago, Exile in Bookville. She was (is) so lovely and enthusiastic and funny, that we’ve stayed in touch. She gave me a proof of her latest novel, Hot Springs Drive, and unsurprisingly I loved this too, wrote her a quote for the cover and posted a mini review of it on Instagram. I highly recommend it. Here’s what she has to say about herself:
(*Why am I not surprised that Lindsay cheated and gave me four recommendations?)
I’m Lindsay Hunter, author of five books. My latest novel, Hot Springs Drive, was named one of the best thrillers of 2023 by the Washington Post. I host I’m a Writer But, a podcast about writers and their lives. I live in Chicago with my family.
I’m excited to recommend the following books to you! These are titles that have stayed with me ever since I had the pleasure of reading them. They inspire me in my own writing, and show me that there are no limits, only those I’ve imposed on myself. Also, and this is important: they are a blast to read.
Read This is a weekly post written by a guest author – often a friend of mine, or someone I’ve met on my writerly travels, who recommends three books that they think deserve more recognition. If you’re interested in buying any of the books, please on the covers and give these hidden gems some love.
Read This: Francesca Ramsay
Here’s the disclaimer: Francesca is a friend of my son’s and it was via him that I was sent her book. Of course it doesn’t always work out when you’re sent a book via a friend or relation but this time it did. I loved Pinch Me, and you can see the breakfast picture I took of it and read my brief review on Instagram here. And only a couple of weeks ago I finally met her in real life when I was in Bristol with Henry. She’s as lovely in real life as she is on the page. Here’s a bit more about her:
Francesca Ramsay is an author, editor and art history teacher based in Bristol. Often working at the interface between art and the public has made her adept at writing about what we see in ways that are both accessible and entertaining. Her first book, PINCH ME: Trying to Feel Real in the 21st Century came out last year, and has recently been published in Italian as Toccami (Touch Me).
You can find her on Instagram. Here are Francesca’s recommendations:
Welcome to the Cabinet Rooms Book Club list. If you’d like to buy any of these books, future or past while supporting The Cabinet Rooms, you can do so here. To book a ticket for a book club, click here.
15 Dec 26
They by Kay Dick (Gary)
18 Nov 26
The Hunger by Alma Katsu
7 Oct 26
The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota
26 Aug 26
Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller
15 July 26
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (Ellie)
8.5
3 June 26
Lost on Mars by Paul Magrs
4.1
22 April 26
Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans (WBF)
8.2
11 March 26
The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits
6.5
28 Jan 26
The Young Accomplice by Benjamin Wood
6.4
Read Along 25
Lonesome Dove
9.8
Dec 25
Kalmann by Joachim B. Schmidt (Marcus)
5.9
Nov 25
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
8.4
Oct 25
Beloved by Toni Morrison (Gary)
7.3
Aug 25
A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro (est. forgot to write the score)
6.8
July 25
Mrs Caliban by Rachel Ingells
6.9
June 25
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
5.9
April 25
A Wreath for the Enemy by Pamela Frankau (Tim)
7.0
March 25
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (Sam)
6.0
Jan 25
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez (Ellie)
6.4
Dec 24
The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams (Emma)
5.6
Nov 24
Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan
5.0
Sept / Oct 24
Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden
6.8
Aug 2024
Guapa by Saleem Hadad
6.1
July 2024
Birdeye by Judith Heneghan (Judith will be attending)
–
May 2024
The Yield by Tara June Winch
6.4
Apr 2024
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5.7
Feb 2024
Lord Jim at Home by Dinah Brooke
7.7
Jan 2024
The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer (3.7) + (6.4)
4.7
Dec 2023
Small Things Like These by Clare Keegan
7.8
Nov 2023
Swan Song by Kerry Andrew
5.1
Sept 2023
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
8.5
July 2023
The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller
–
June 2023
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
7.8
May 2023
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
5.7
Apr 2023
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
7.9
Mar 2023
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
5.2
Jan 2023
The Bees by Laline Paull
4.5
Dec 2022
When the Night Comes by Favel Parrett
6.2
Nov 2022
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
6.6
Sept 2022
Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny
8.2
?
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
4.2
Mar 2022
Inlands by Elin Willows
8.7
Feb 2022
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
7.6
Nov 2021
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
2.0
Sept 2021
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
8.6
July 2021
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
6.2
?
In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut
8.0
Apr 2021
Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller
–
Mar 2021
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
?
June 2020
A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
?
Apr 2020
Severence by Ling Ma
8.6
Feb 2020
Everything Will be All Right by Tessa Hadley
Dec 2019
Get in Trouble by Kelly Link
Oct 2019
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
