Nothing is Heavy by Vicki Jarrett
Critics’ Reviews
Jarrett’s novel for all its onslaught of events, isn’t heavy either. Its dialogue is fresh –
‘You don’t remember me, do you?’
‘Small chips and a pickled egg.’
– and its women characters display a feisty, Thelma-and-Louise-ish survivors’ charm. Despite its overload of life-crushing disasters and shorthand assessment of parenting, this is an oddly exuberant and salty book. And that’s even before the chips.
— Elsbeth Lindner, BookOxygen
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Nothing Is Heavy was brilliant fun to read. It was funny one paragraph, then thoughtful, sad one chapter, ridiculous the next. A fast-paced novel, with moments of clever writing, I’m excited by this debut novel. I put the book down last night with a smile on my face, and I liked that. Not often do I get such a feeling a peace from a novel, and nor did I expect one from a story so bizarre. Realistic and likeable characters, a great setting, a crazy plot; Jarrett has offered a very enjoyable read.
— Bethany Anderson, Subtle Melodrama
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[Jarrett’s] dynamic and often comical storytelling ensures we keep turning the pages.
— Alastair Mabbott, Herald Scotland
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With a Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize shortlisting already under her belt for the novel, which has also been praised by the likes of Janice Galloway and Sophie Hannah, the omens are good for one of the Capital’s newest literary talents who isn’t quite done with chippies or the Tollcross netherworld as fictional subject matter. “They’re exciting in-between sort of places,” she says, “and that’s what interests me as a writer.”
— Jarrett is interviewed in The Scotsman
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A blackly comic and compelling read.
— Jade Skinner, Dundee University Review of the Arts
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Prizes for Nothing is Heavy
Shortlisted for Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2011 (pre-publication)
Shortlisted for Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award 2013
Longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award 2013-2014