The debut short story collection from the RSL Ondaatje-award longlisted author of The Half-life of Snails.
'Gripping throughout, and delivered in effortless, understated prose, Untethered confirms Holloway’s narrative gifts: namely, her way with a story and her convincing humanism.' – Lunate
'I'm a huge fan of Holloway's writing. And a mood of ancient magic flits like birds through these eerie and delicate modern folk tales.' – Samira Ahmed
‘Stories about things that matter, admirable for their compassionate yet precise realism and refusal to waste words.’ – Maggie Gee
'Holloway's exquisite collection delicately untangles small moments to reveal their monumental significance, and these tender stories continue to reveal themselves long after you've closed the book.' – Catrin Kean
‘Untethered from each other – and, just as importantly, from the natural world – we might struggle to thrive, or even survive. Philippa Holloway’s stories acknowledge the necessity of making and maintaining good connections.’ – Nicholas Royle
'The collection carefully examines the relationship between the natural and modern world, how humans interact with nature and how they react when nature diverts from its regular patterns' – Imogen Davies, Nation. Cymru
Dead birds fall from the sky, an octopus lies stranded on a beach, and a lost shoe becomes a public shrine ... Untethered, Philippa Holloway’s first collection of short stories, provides an unflinching glimpse of daily life interrupted by unexpected events. Small intrusions into familiar spaces reveal nothing is as it seems. Sometimes it demands a change of viewpoint, sometimes a cutting loose to find freedom.
From conflicted parental expectations to unwanted visitors, from discovering tiny human teeth in the garden to a brief encounter with a murderer over the kitchen table, these precise, realist tales scrutinise families and lovers, colleagues and strangers with a keen emotional depth and sharp observation. Each one is a vivid snapshot exposing the fragile ties that hold people together.
Here we see how pigeons become terrible portents, dining tables become autopsy benches and confessionals, and a family is forced out of their home with just minutes to pack.
PRAISE FOR THE HALF-LIFE OF SNAILS:
'This timely novel, meticulously researched and rooted in a deeply felt knowledge of place, has been a long time in gestation... Holloway’s real brilliance is in the quiet, patient interweaving of two highly charged places and her internalised sense of the invisible damage that radioactive fallout, both real and imagined, does to bodies, hearts and minds.' Helen Grove-White, Planet
'a powerful, evocative novel about landscape, about a young mother living near a nuclear power plant in Wales... It was longlisted for the Ondaatje Prize and I thought it was a terrific book.' Samira Ahmed, Front Row, BBC Radio 4
'The Half-Life of Snails achieves a powerful evocation of both the north coast of Ynys Môn, where Wylfa is situated, and the exclusion zone around Chernobyl. Holloway conducted extensive field research in Ukraine while she was planning this book and her descriptions of ‘the zone’ have a palpable intensity.' Bobby Seal, Psychogeographic Review
'I was drawn in and held until the final sentences ... a prescient, powerful and disturbing read.' Dr Phil Smith, psychogeographer
'Holloway’s descriptions of the Welsh landscape and the isolation zone around Chernobyl are richly detailed, starkly contrasting lushness and degradation... Holloway is expert at capturing the fear, verging on paranoia, generated by them.' Kirkus
'Holloway’s novel shows us the human story of the nuclear debate. It is both a powerful exploration of personal and social development, and an intriguing insight into arguments about nuclear power.' Morgan Davies, New Welsh Review
'the prose in the novel is often lean, pared-back but nonetheless effective as it maps out the relationship between the two sisters and demonstrates the unbreakable bond between Helen and her son ... the final image of the book is simply heart-rending' Jon Gower, Nation.Cymru
'I don't think this one will leave me, the type of read that exists in the back of your mind ... a cracking and captivating read.' Cheryl M-M's Book Blog
'The Half-Life of Snails is that wonderful thing, a novel that can be read in several different ways. On the surface it is a gripping thriller, ripe for transfer to the big screen. But it also excels as an exploration of the geography of the human heart, which Holloway shows to be as difficult to navigate as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, for which there is no detailed and reliable map available.' Lunate
'The author has crafted a beautiful yet unsettling story with a strong sense of place, accentuating the bond between humans and the landscapes they live in. The Half-Life Of Snails is a book to reflect on that will undoubtedly linger long after finishing.' Buzz
'The Half-Life of Snails is a gripping story which speaks to a universal anxiety, not just about nuclear power, but about the environment as a whole. It explores the way we respond in crisis, and the things we hold onto most when everything seems under threat. More than that, it captures the genuine love of a family who, despite their flaws, care about one another deeply. A transformative read in a time of heightened complexity and division.' Wales Arts Review
'Holloway has written a novel that shimmers with compassion, one that crosses borders of both nations and emotions. In telling the story of a mother’s love for her son and an intimate, searing portrayal of survival set amidst the Ukrainian Maidan Revolution of 2014, the author has crafted a tale that will linger longer than the half-life of many other books you will read this year. Holloway’s fascination with the intersection of where history meets everyday life has given us a story told with great skill, weaving together the legacy of Chernobyl and the tragedy of human arrogance. She gives us hope that each of us can act with grace and love even in the face of overwhelming disaster and a precarious world. Sadly for us, it is even more necessary for us to hear these stories today.' Alex Lockwood, author of The Chernobyl Privileges
'A careful, tender and arresting story that explores how we're formed by the places we think we own - I was moved by this suspenseful and delicate novel.' Jenn Ashworth, author of Ghosted
