First published 2021
In 1944, a German V2 rocket obliterates a crowded Woolworths, erasing five young children from existence. But what if they lived? Francis Spufford's novel traces an alternate timeline where these children survive—spinning out their individual stories across post-war London's seismic transformations. From bus conductor to teacher, from mental hospital patient to small-time criminal, each character navigates the turbulent decades of the twentieth century. Their paths wind through economic shifts, sexual revolutions, and personal reinventions, revealing how fragile and resilient human potential can be. As London itself reshapes around them, these five souls wrestle with chance, identity, and the extraordinary ordinary moments that constitute a life.
Genres: literary-fiction, family-life, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, alternate-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: alternate-timeline, found-family, resilience
Setting: London
Period: 1944, Post-War
336 pages · Hardcover · Faber & Faber