London Evening Standard Best Books of the Year: “A disturbing, thought-provoking tale of family dysfunction, spanning the second half of the 20th century, that guarantees laughter at the uncomfortable familiarity of it all.”
Portsmouth, 1984. Thirteen-year-old Jake’s world is unravelling as his father and older brother leave home, and his mother, Mary, plunges into alcoholic freefall. When his parents reconcile, life finally seems to be looking up. Their first family holiday, announced over scampi and chips in the Royal Oak, promises to be the icing on the cake – until long-unspoken family secrets begin to surface.
Vividly bringing to life the gentility of a 1950s childhood, the free-spirited hedonism of the Sixties, and the urban domesticity of 1980s Portsmouth, this is an intimate, lyrical and deeply moving portrait of a family crumbling under the weight of past mistakes.
An extract from Glasshopper won the 2008 Mail on Sunday Novel Competition with judges Fay Weldon and Sir John Mortimer describing Ashdown’s writing as “magnificent”.
REVIEWS
The Observer: “A wonderful debut – intelligent, understated and sensitive.”
Mail on Sunday: “By the worthy winner of the 2008 Mail on Sunday Novel Prize, Glasshopper is an intelligent, beautifully observed coming-of-age story, packed with vivid characters and inch-perfect dialogue . . . Ashdown’s storytelling skills are formidable; her human insights highly perceptive.”
Fay Weldon and Paula Johnson (Mail on Sunday Novel Competition): “Engrossing and moving.”
Waterstone’s Books Quarterly: “An immaculately written novel with plenty of dark family secrets and gentle wit within. Recommended for book groups.”
The Observer Books of the Year 2009: “A tender and subtle novel about alcoholism that explores difficult issues in deceptively easy prose.”
London Evening Standard Best Books of 2009: “A disturbing, thought-provoking tale of family dysfunction, spanning the second half of the 20th century, that guarantees laughter at the uncomfortable familiarity of it all.”
Sainsbury’s Magazine: “A brilliant debut.”
Glamour: “A heartbreaking redemptive tale of family secrets that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster.”
Easy Living: “Carefully observed, unexpected and mesmerisingly beautiful.”
David Vann, author of Legend of a Suicide: “I love it. It’s a book that’s very fast and really rewarding as a reader. There’s a wrenching end to the first chapter that switches the mood and absolutely hooked me for the rest of the book.”
Lemn Sissay on the Simon Mayo Show: “A great story. It is incredibly sad but it’s incredibly enjoyable, like watching a horror film; you enjoy being frightened.”
Joel Morris on the Simon Mayo Show: “It reminded me of Iain Banks. If you enjoyed The Crow Road, I think you’ll get lots out of this book.”
Boyd Hilton on the Simon Mayo Show: “It’s an incredibly powerful, intense book. Very, very real.“
Argus: “The prose is succinct and smooth, the dialogue crisp and convincing. An intriguing, atmospheric read with a healthy dollop of realism.”
The Kemptown Rag: “An outstanding debut novel.”
Drink & Drugs Review: “Glasshopper is skilfully written and hard to put down. A page-turningly good read . . . a perceptive insight into alcohol’s hidden harm.”
Amazon review: “Just about the most incredible book I’ve ever read.” “This will, in time, become a classic.”
Words in the Treehouse Blog: “A moving story that often grabs you at the throat, Glasshopper is neither morbid nor depressing. Delightfully fluid prose … Ashdown’s attention to detail is extraordinary.”
Bookbag.co.uk: “It’s hard to know who to recommend this to without encouraging everyone to go out and buy it. Such a great range of characters within such a small group of friends and family is enough to keep anyone turning the page. Ashdown is a definite one to watch for in British literature.”
Bookersatz: “A beautifully poignant, multi-layered family story.”
Lizzie’s Literary Life: “A great book group read – in fact, I’m going to recommend it to mine.”
The Hungry Reader Book Blog: “Glasshopper is the kind of novel that stays with you … the pain of growing up is captured beautifully .”
Pam Reader Book Blog: “A wonderful, sensitively written book … the story will stay with you long after you turn the last page.”
Fleur Fisher Book Blog: “The people, their relationships, the dialogue were so utterly real … times and places perfectly captured. I can’t think of one single false note.”
Libri Populus Book Blog: “Cleverly woven together … realistic and human … it is hard not to feel the joy and pain of the characters.”
