Leave before you go - Emily Perkins

Leave Before You Go is about Daniel, who escapes the grind of his London life to find himself alone, penniless and paranoid on the other side of the world. And it is about Kate, who lives in Auckland, where she works as an usherette. It is a merciless and witty examination of a generation cut adrift: what do people do when they don't know what they want to do?

'Perkins captures brilliantly the often brutal vicissitudes of modern love - the agonies of flirting, flings, betrayal, sex . . . a gifted writer, with an idiosyncratic, clear-eyed take on life' Harpers & Queen

'Remarkable how accomplished some first novels can be. Perkins' debut demonstrates the same light touch that made her short-story collection a winner. Her characters fall in and out of love and work; occasionally, they wonder what life is all about. They are entirely credible' Independent