Mesmeric and tender, this is the tale of one man’s search for love and affection.

A man returns to his hometown to clear out the flat of his recently de¬ceased mother. While there, he cannot resist visiting his former lover. As the storm rages in the night outside, he finds in the man’s embrace some kind of quiet; some kind of home.

As we are drawn into the narrator’s past, we see how a childhood marked by abuse and a life lived on the edges can shape someone – and what respite and beauty can be found in love and trust. Unsentimental yet aching with longing and vulnerability, Angelo Tijssens’ The Edges is a deeply humane and moving debut.

‘A book that feels like heartache – at once tender & violent, intimate & lyrical, The Edges conjures itself in flowing temporal rhythms, immersing the reader in the night-lit, wintery ache of love.’ Seán Hewitt

‘A hovering wounded story of unending love and fear and pain that satu¬rates the reader in silence and memory . . . Unmissable.’ David Hayden

‘A deeply affecting meditation on the deprivation of love. Like a meeting of Édouard Louis and Garth Greenwell. ’ Michael Amherst