Out of Touch
The heartbreaking and hopeful must read
by Haleh Agar
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Pub Date 2 Apr 2020 | Archive Date 2 Apr 2020
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Description
'A must read' Sunday Express
'Heartbreaking and hopeful' Woman's Weekly
'A riveting and captivating new novel about the complexities of sibling relations'
Grazia
'Raw and hopeful, this book is about what pulls us apart and what keeps us together' Rowan Hisayo Bucahan
'One of those books that had me ignoring my phone, family and sensible bedtimes. Immersive, gorgeously rich and beautifully written. I loved it' Lia Louis
A man hit Ava with his car, a few miles from her bungalow. He brings her flowers in hospital, and offers to do her laundry. He also brings her the letter she dropped that night on the road.
In New York, Ava's brother Michael receives the same letter. He thinks about it as he steps out of the shower into his curtainless bedroom. A naked woman stares at him from the apartment across. They both laugh and cover up with their arms.
Brother and sister cannot avoid the letter: their estranged father is dying and wants to meet. Can they forgive their father, and face each other after all these years apart? Will new unexpected friends offer the advice and comfort they need?
With sharp wit and sensitivity, Out of Touch is a deeply absorbing story about love and vulnerability, sex and power, and the unbreakable bonds of family.
Advance Praise
‘Out of Touch is a careful examination of sibling relations, the rips in family life, and the choices that must be made after a person finds themselves to be an adult. Raw and hopeful, this book is about what pulls us apart and what keeps us together.’
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of HARMLESS LIKE YOU and STARLING DAYS
‘One of those books that had me ignoring my phone, family and sensible bedtimes. Immersive, gorgeously rich and beautifully written. I loved it’
Lia Louis, author of SOMEWHERE CLOSE TO HAPPY
‘I love the way Haleh Agar writes about family and cities and parenthood and sex. Ava and Michael felt completely honest to me, finally a story about siblings I believed! Their fractured relationship really touched me and I think lots of people will relate to it'
Luan Goldie, author of NIGHTINGALE POINT
‘A brilliant meditation on the bonds of kinship. Agar delivers this potent, intricate tale with scalpel like precision and tenderness.’
Irenosen Okojie, author of NUDIBRANCH
‘I devoured this brilliant book - it’s so wise and astute on families, relationships and the strange ties that bind us. I loved it.’
Rachael Lucas, author of THE TELEPHONE BOX LIBRARY
‘Out of Touch is a deftly intimate, touching story with crisp prose. In this engaging debut, Agar introduces complex characters and their often painful and always moving pursuit for closure, family, belonging, love, and a place to call home.’
Yvonne Battle-Felton, author of REMEMBERED
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781474612241 |
| PRICE | £14.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 320 |
Featured Reviews
Gem F, Reviewer
Stunning writing that so eloquently explores nuances of families, conflict and love.
I felt a strong attachment to Ava, being a carer is a difficult role and she lost a lot of her own identity with everything that happened. Seeing her steps forward and the way she was able to develop a deeper understanding of her parents and move to a place of acceptance as well as emancipation was rewarding to read.
I felt I bonded with Michael less and certainly at times he's very unlikeable but I understood why he was closed off and what his actions truly were shielding.
The years of miscommunication, avoidance, fear and shame have scarred this family in a complex system of barriers, selfishness, cowardliness and martyrdom, is it possible to ever forgive and find a way forward?
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