{"product_id":"will-this-house-last-forever-9781472274489","title":"Will This House Last Forever","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Completely original, raw and warm'' \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard \u003c\/i\u003eBooks of the Summer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Poignant... written with intelligence and tears'' Ben Okri\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Nuanced, absorbing and moving... extraordinary'' \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Raw, poetic, beautifully formed'' Daisy Johnson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Xanthi Barker''s father died  when she was in her mid twenties, she could make no sense of her grief for a man who had been absent for most of her life.  Her father, poet Sebastian  Barker, had left Xanthi, her mother and her brother to pursue writing and a new relationship, when Xanthi was a baby.  Growing up she had always struggled to reconcile his extravagant affection - a rocking horse crafted from scavenged wood, the endless stream of poems and drawings and letters, conversations that spiralled from the structure of starlight to philosophy to Bruce Springsteen - with the fact that he could not be depended upon for more everyday things. Tho\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI loved this \u003cb\u003edelicate and engaging \u003c\/b\u003estory of love and grief so much that it made me wish I was still a bookseller so I could press it into the hands of all my customers... It's \u003cb\u003eso honest and beautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e -- Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of THE LAST ACT OF LOVE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHeartbreaking... beautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eThis book \u003cb\u003ecounts the true cost of having a writer in the family\u003c\/b\u003e.  Meticulously, Xanthi Barker traces the fault lines of her fractured relationship with her father back through his own marriage, all the way to her grandparents' union: the original, generative source of their \u003cb\u003epoetry and pain\u003c\/b\u003e.  This is \u003cb\u003ea fearless debut: potent and intensely moving\u003c\/b\u003e -- Tabitha Lasley, author of SEA STATE\u003cbr\u003eIt felt \u003cb\u003esuch a privilege to read \u003c\/b\u003ethis book.  Raw, devastating, beautifully formed.  \u003cb\u003eLet's keep our eye on Barker\u003c\/b\u003e -- Daisy Johnson\u003cbr\u003eBarker's attempt to triangulate a void is \u003cb\u003ehaunting\u003c\/b\u003e. Yet even from the depths \u003cb\u003eher memories glow with life, the writing gleams with precision\u003c\/b\u003e -- Rhik Samadder, author of I NEVER SAID I LOVED YOU\u003cbr\u003e'Nuanced, \u003cb\u003emoving and absorbing\u003c\/b\u003e... open, youthful and uncensored... \u003cb\u003eextraordinary\u003c\/b\u003e * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eThe story of a relationship defined by departures... \u003cb\u003earresting and beautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e * The Bookseller (Editor's Choice, June) *\u003cbr\u003eConveys brilliantly the maddening experience of loving someone who is absent when present and present when absent... I was drawn in by her \u003cb\u003eintense prose.  A great new talent\u003c\/b\u003e -- Jill Hopper, author of THE MAHOGANY POD\u003cbr\u003e[An] \u003cb\u003eeloquent\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003emoving \u003c\/b\u003ememoir * Stylist *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWonderful \u003c\/b\u003e- an elegy of sorts, yet \u003cb\u003ewholly fresh and unsentimental\u003c\/b\u003e -- Sarah Baume\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA radiant book\u003c\/b\u003e.  I missed Xanthi Barker's \u003cb\u003ewise, perceptive \u003c\/b\u003evoice the moment I finished it.  \u003cb\u003eVivid, evocative and addictive\u003c\/b\u003e, without losing any of its meditative grace -- Francesca Reece, author of VOYEUR\u003cbr\u003eAs well as offering \u003cb\u003ea powerful evocation of loss\u003c\/b\u003e, it is also \u003cb\u003ewonderfully funny, brilliantly astute \u003c\/b\u003ein its observation of everyday life, and \u003cb\u003ebeautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e * Litro *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBeautifully explores Barker's relationship with her father.\u003c\/b\u003e.. and the experience of losing an 'eccentric, charismatic' man * Image *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn extraordinary book\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003esearingly personal\u003c\/b\u003e, and unflinching in the way it deals with tricky emotional terrain....  \u003cb\u003eTruly one to treasure\u003c\/b\u003e * Culturefly *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Headline Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48739450388823,"sku":"9781472274489","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781472274489.jpg?v=1720052279","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/will-this-house-last-forever-9781472274489","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}