"Comparing a story to toothache might not seem like a compliment, but for this debut coming-of-age novel about finding yourself after heartbreak, it really is "
Lynsey May throws you straight into Ellis’ grief, shame, and shock from her break-up, and the reader roots (can I make some kind of root canal pun there?) for her immediately. Lynsey May has an eye for shiny details and polished turns of phrase: in the devastation of rooting through her shared laundry basket with her sudden ex: ‘she’s been so stupid, mistaking proximity for intimacy all this time’; describing toddlers as ‘such hatred contained in such tiny bodies, it’s amazing they function at all’; or the new dentists’ which has ‘a giant cuddly tooth called Mr Shine’.
Weak Teeth is a debut novel that feels very cleanly considered; it’s aesthetically and structurally cohesive, and I enjoyed the attention to detail – like starting chapters with obliquely relevant teeth facts. If you are a fan of Reasons to be Cheerful by Nina Stibbe you might enjoy this adjacent witty dentist-themed novel, though May’s humour is more wry and aching than Stibbe’s jollity. Delicate, tense, concentrated, with a burning pain at its core.
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'[A] warm and witty exploration of our hidden vulnerabilities' - Catherine Simpson Ellis's life has crumbled without warning. Her boyfriend has fallen in love with someone else, her job's insecure, her bank account's empty and she has a mouthful of unreliable teeth. Forced back to her childhood home, there is little in the way of comfort.
| Primary Genre | Humorous Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
'[A] warm and witty exploration of our hidden vulnerabilities' - Catherine Simpson Ellis's life has crumbled without warning. Her boyfriend has fallen in love with someone else, her job's insecure, her bank account's empty and she has a mouthful of unreliable teeth.
Weak Teeth features in the following genres: Humorous Fiction, Category fiction, Fiction: narrative themes, Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Fiction, Fiction: special features, Debuts, Feel-Good Fiction, Romance / Relationship Stories, Recommendations, Debut Books of the Month
Paperback, Ebook, Hardback. £8.99, down from the £9.99 cover price. In Stock.
Weak Teeth was written by Lynsey May and published by Polygon an imprint of Birlinn Ltd
Weak Teeth has 272 pages
£8.99, reduced from £9.99. In Stock.
