BORN FREE

Laura Hird's superb debut novel is a punchy, acerbic, sharp-witted, and, above all, acutely observed account of family life set in a deprived area of west Edinburgh. Published to outstanding acclaim in Britain, Born Free tells the story of an ordinary family who is trying to escape from something . . . and each other. The interactions between Jake, Joni, Angie, and Vie reveal a hellish cocktail of adolescent and midlife crises; the savagery of sibling rivalry; the waking nightmare of a marriage gone cold; and, naturally, the unbridgeable, infernal chasm between the generations. It's a story of everyday life.