In the Approaches

Written by Nicola Barker

Narrated by Stephen Perring and Antonia Beamish

‘Open yourself up again to all that terrible light and savage bliss and deafening reverberation …’

In the Summer of 1971, a charismatic family seeks refuge in the quiet, English coastal backwater of Pett Level. Bran Cleary is a controversial Irish muralist; his fractious and promiscuous wife (and muse) 'Lonely' Allaway is half Aboriginal; their strange, sickly daughter, Orla Nor, is almost a Saint.

Thirteen years later, a shifty individual turns up in Pett Level, apparently determined to get to the bottom of the bizarre and ultimately tragic events which unfolded in the aftermath of that arrival. But does he really want to understand, or is he just way too close to the story to make any clear sense of it? And what of the locals who seem so determined to resist and undermine his investigations?

‘In The Approaches’ is a fabulously twisted comedy of very bad manners which starts out as a seaside idyll and ends up as a pilgrimage – sometimes sacred, sometimes profane, and frequently both at once. Set in a 1984 which seems almost as distantly located in the past as Orwell’s was in the future, Nicola Barker’s tenth novel offers a captivating glimpse of something more shocking than any dystopia – the possibility of faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Jun 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9780007583737

Nicola Barker

Nicola Barker’s work has been translated into numerous languages, and received great critical acclaim and numerous prizes. Her work includes Love Your Enemies, Wide Open (International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award), Clear (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize), Darkmans (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize) and The Yips (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize). She was named as one of Granta’s 20 Best Young British Novelists by in 2005.

Reviews for In the Approaches

[polarbear123_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Unmistakably barker. Is she using a character to have an internal dialogue about the book or is this just the character's odd behaviour. It doesn't matter and that is the theme of this book. You won't like it if you need a beginning , middle and end to a story. There are none. But if you liked any of barker's books then you will enjoy her writin style. Look out for the Baldo chapters.