little scratch

**Shortlisted for The Goldsmiths Prize 2021** **Shortlisted for The Desmond Elliott Prize 2021** **An Observer 10 Best Debut Novelists of 2021** 'A n extremely perceptive depiction of power and agency.' Guardian 'Startlingly original.' VOGUE 'Extraordinary.' New Yorker little scratch tells the story of a day in the life of an unnamed young woman. She wakes up, goes to work. She lives a life of demarcated fridge shelves and office politics; clock-watching and WhatsApp. But underneath this routine, there's something else going on: something under her skin. Fiercely moving and defiantly inventive, little scratch is a novel about what it means to live out the trajectory of a single day - every minute, from morning to night - consumed by trauma. Along the way, ideas about sex, violence, survival and comedy intertwine. The result is a fearless and unforgettable debut work of fiction. 'Wry, funny and heartbreaking.' Sophie Mackintosh 'little scratch is a story that is urgent. It is a story that needs to be told.' Meena Kandasamy 'Reads like the cinders settling in the air after an explosion... daring and completely readable.' Colin Barrett 'little scratch is a little miracle... impossible to read it and not wish there were more books like it.' Alan Trotter 'Confident and vital... little scratch is an absolute gift.' Naoise Dolan www.rebeccawatson.co.uk

**Shortlisted for The Goldsmiths Prize 2021** **Shortlisted for The Desmond Elliott Prize 2021** **An Observer 10 Best Debut Novelists of 2021** 'A n extremely perceptive depiction of power and agency.' Guardian 'Startlingly original.' VOGUE 'Extraordinary.' New Yorker little scratch tells the story of a day in the life of an unnamed young woman. She wakes up, goes to work. She lives a life of demarcated fridge shelves and office politics; clock-watching and WhatsApp. But underneath this routine, there's something else going on: something under her skin. Fiercely moving and defiantly inventive, little scratch is a novel about what it means to live out the trajectory of a single day - every minute, from morning to night - consumed by trauma. Along the way, ideas about sex, violence, survival and comedy intertwine. The result is a fearless and unforgettable debut work of fiction. 'Wry, funny and heartbreaking.' Sophie Mackintosh 'little scratch is a story that is urgent. It is a story that needs to be told.' Meena Kandasamy 'Reads like the cinders settling in the air after an explosion... daring and completely readable.' Colin Barrett 'little scratch is a little miracle... impossible to read it and not wish there were more books like it.' Alan Trotter 'Confident and vital... little scratch is an absolute gift.' Naoise Dolan www.rebeccawatson.co.uk

A dazzlingly original, shot-in-the-arm of a debut that reveals a young woman's every thought over the course of one deceptively ordinary day, in the formally innovative tradition of Grief Is the Thing with Feathers and Ducks, Newburyport . - Extraordinary.-- The New Yorker She wakes up, goes to work. Watches the clock and checks her phone. But underneath this monotony there's something else going on: something under her skin. Relayed in interweaving columns that chart the feedback loop of memory, the senses, and modern distractions with wit and precision, our narrator becomes increasingly anxious as the day moves on: Is she overusing the heart emoji? Isn't drinking eight glasses of water a day supposed to fix everything? Why is the etiquette of the women's bathroom so fraught? How does she define rape? And why can't she stop scratching? Fiercely moving and slyly profound, little scratch is a defiantly playful look at how our minds function in -- and survive -- the darkest moments.

A dazzlingly original, shot-in-the-arm of a debut that reveals a young woman's every thought over the course of one deceptively ordinary day, in the formally innovative tradition of Grief Is the Thing with Feathers and Ducks, Newburyport . - Extraordinary.-- The New Yorker She wakes up, goes to work. Watches the clock and checks her phone. But underneath this monotony there's something else going on: something under her skin. Relayed in interweaving columns that chart the feedback loop of memory, the senses, and modern distractions with wit and precision, our narrator becomes increasingly anxious as the day moves on: Is she overusing the heart emoji? Isn't drinking eight glasses of water a day supposed to fix everything? Why is the etiquette of the women's bathroom so fraught? How does she define rape? And why can't she stop scratching? Fiercely moving and slyly profound, little scratch is a defiantly playful look at how our minds function in -- and survive -- the darkest moments.