Loved One
‘THE FUNNIEST BOOK YOU’LL EVER READ ABOUT GRIEF’ MAGGIE SHIPSTEAD
‘SHIMMERS WITH WIT EVEN AS IT EXPLORES DEEP LOSS’ RACHEL KHONG
When Julia’s first-love-turned-best-friend Gabe, a successful indie musician, dies unexpectedly aged 29, Julia launches herself into an intercontinental quest to recover the possessions he left with friends and acquaintances across the world. The search for these items leads Julia to Elizabeth, the last woman Gabe loved, in an interaction that leaves Julia with more questions than answers about Gabe and their shared history. And now, Julia can’t stop talking to, thinking about and googling Elizabeth.
Both women, it turns out, have something to hide. Together, the two must reconcile their conflicting versions and memories of Gabe and what he meant to each of them… and what they now mean to each other.
'This is the funniest book you'll ever read about grief. Full of wildly astute, delectably thorny questions about love, loss and possession' Maggie Shipstead, author of The Great Circle -
”'Stylish, perceptive, witty and generous. An instant classic” - Emma Forrest, author of Busy Being Free
'I was charmed by page one of Aisha Muharrar's Loved One, which shimmers with wit even as it explores deep loss - asking enduring questions while acknowledging how funny they can be, too. What does it mean to love and lose? How do we undo - and make - each other? This is a book I will be pressing, urgently, into the hands of my own loved ones' Rachel Khong, author of Real Americans -
'Aisha Muharrar has written the type of book you don’t just read, you consume. It’s equal parts hilarious, poignant and thrilling. I was so engrossed I forgot to pick my kids up from school so I’m also mad at her' Casey Wilson, author of The Wreckage of My Presence -
'Warm-hearted, funny and written with style and panache, Loved One is both wise and a pleasure to read. I tore through it, from page one until its moving final pages. A terrific novel' Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P -