Paradise Garden

The beginning was the last day before the summer holidays. The beginning was a song on the radio. The beginning was big plans. Fourteen-year-old Billie rarely crosses the boundaries of her high-rise housing estate. By the end of the month their money just about stretches to pasta with ketchup, but her mother, Marika, lights up Billie’s world with her imagination and big heart. One day they receive an unwelcome visit from her Hungarian grandmother, and Billie loses much more than the colourful everyday life she shared with her mother. No longer able to ask Marika questions, Billie sets off alone in their old Nissan – determined to meet the father she never knew and find out why she keeps dreaming about the sea, even though she’s never been there. Longlisted for the German Book Prize 2023, Paradise Garden is a spellbinding journey and a deeply affecting story of class, resilience and belonging.

The beginning was the last day before the summer holidays. The beginning was a song on the radio. The beginning was big plans. Fourteen-year-old Billie rarely crosses the boundaries of her high-rise housing estate. By the end of the month their money just about stretches to pasta with ketchup, but her mother, Marika, lights up Billie’s world with her imagination and big heart. One day they receive an unwelcome visit from her Hungarian grandmother, and Billie loses much more than the colourful everyday life she shared with her mother. No longer able to ask Marika questions, Billie sets off alone in their old Nissan – determined to meet the father she never knew and find out why she keeps dreaming about the sea, even though she’s never been there. Longlisted for the German Book Prize 2023, Paradise Garden is a spellbinding journey and a deeply affecting story of class, resilience and belonging.