Learning to Die - Softcover

`This is a richly funny novel, yet finally beautiful, tender and heart-wrenching.' -- Rose Shepherd * Saga * `[Maloney] writes about everything on a breath-taking continuum from humorous to brutally realist ... genius.' -- Anna Hollingsworth * Shiny New Books * `A crisply written and ferociously intelligent account of a disparate group of thirtysomethings trying to make sense of the world they inhabit, and a welcome reminder that the English novel - as opposed to all the other kinds clamouring for our attention - is alive and well.' -- D.J. Taylor, author of The Prose Factory `Startling and sad but also sly, punchy and full of heart - I admire Maloney for going where few novels dare.' -- Julie Myerson, author of The Stopped Heart `A novel replete with formal virtues - Learning to Die by Thomas Maloney assembles a vibrant cast of recognisable characters to wrestle with the contemporary challenge of how we live and die now, and whether engagement is any more possible than escape.' -- Richard Beard, author of The Day That Went Missing `Poetical and lyrical ... we are immersed in the characters and drawn helplessly into the story's flow ... Maloney spares neither his own characters, nor his readers - and this is as it should be.' -- Tadhg Coakley * Irish Examiner *

Is thirty too late to reconsider? Natalie can't remember why her life is following Plan B. Dan's vision of the universe has never extended to understanding his wife. But their marriage has some precious ember at its core, doesn't it? Meanwhile, trader Mike is relieved to discover that it doesn't matter if there's a void where the weightiest substance of your character should be. Fearless mountaineer Brenda sweats and trembles in a crowded room. And James doesn't know how to unfollow his dreams. Thrown off course by a shocking diagnosis, five friends confront the realities of money, meaning, marriage, and mortality, in this vivaciously intelligent novel about how to live and die.