Nuclear Family

By Kate Davies

‘Funny, poignant, smart and wonderfully, achingly real’ SARAH WATERS

‘Rambunctiously funny’ THE TIMES, Book of the Year

‘I can’t think of another author who can make me ricochet so quickly from painful empathy to helpless laughter’ ERIN KELLY

Who do you choose when the cracks begin to show?

When Lena buys DNA testing kits for her father Tom and twin sister Alison, she has no idea the gift will blow her family apart.

Tom, forced to admit that he isn’t his daughters’ biological father, is terrified they will reject him. Alison, trying to start a family with her wife, doesn’t think DNA should make a difference.

But Lena is obsessed with tracking down their biological father – and soon discovers they have a famous half-brother. Then she becomes obsessed with him, too…

From the Polari Prize-winning author of In at the Deep End, this is a hilarious and deeply moving novel about what it means to be a family.

READERS ARE LOVING NUCLEAR FAMILY

‘I raced through it over a 24-hour period’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I loved the mix of humour, warmth and empathy. It’s such an insightful book that really got me thinking’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Davies writes fearlessly and movingly – I felt as though I was reading about family friends. A brilliant read’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I chuckled, laughed, and cried… People are alive and breathing on the pages of this book. Please read it and enjoy’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Laugh-out-loud funny… A delight!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Format: Paperback
Release Date: 13 Feb 2025
Pages: 432
ISBN: 978-0-00-853665-7
KATE DAVIES is a novelist, screenwriter and writer of children’s books. Her first novel, In at the Deep End, won the Polari Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. She lives in East London with her wife and son.

”'Davies writes with a glorious sureness of touch and impeccable comic timing. Nuclear Family is funny, poignant, smart and wonderfully, achingly real” - SARAH WATERS

'Rambunctiously funny… Davies' confident storytelling blasts open some seriously sensitive subject matter' THE TIMES, Book of the Year -

'An amazing and funny read about what family really means. Fabulous!' PRIMA, Book of the Year -

'A welcome return from one of the freshest voices in fiction. In Nuclear Family Kate Davies turns her acute eye on family, identity and belonging, not to mention the mechanics of insemination. I can’t think of another author who can make me ricochet so quickly from painful empathy to helpless laughter' ERIN KELLY -

'A gripping drama of DNA and desire' i Paper -

'Deftly wrought' DAILY MAIL -

”'A funny, moving novel… packed with explosive emotion and warmed by empathetic understanding” - MAIL ON SUNDAY

'An engrossing story of ruptured family dynamics, raw and unflinching, painful and hilarious - a complex reflection on love, identity and what makes a family a family' JOANNA GLEN -

”'Filled with wisdom about love, building a family and what makes us who we are, it’s also very, very funny” - STYLIST

'A very modern and moving comedy of manners' RED -

'Juggles big emotions and big laughs with a healthy dose of compassion' THE TIMES -

'‘Davies’s 2019 debut In at the Deep End was one of the funniest novels of that year. This follow up, about what happens when a DNA testing kit ends up blowing a family apart, is just as good a comedy of manners' i NEWS -

”'I loved this funny, thoughtful book” - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

”'Confront[s] sensitive subjects with wit and tenderness… an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of family” - The Bookseller, BOOK OF THE MONTH

'Enjoyable and though-provoking' SUNDAY EXPRESS -

'Heartwarming' WOMAN'S OWN -

”'Thought-provoking…an enjoyable read” - BELFAST TELEGRAPH

'Moving and hilarious' BIG ISSUE, Top 5 New Queer Books -