When We Were Alive

Shortlisted for the Amazon Rising Star Award


'The wartime mood evokes shades of Michael Chabon's Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay... A complex, well-crafted and absorbing debut that points to a promising future.' --Big Issue


When we first meet Bobby, he is a shy, 12-year-old magician who falls in love with his best friend. William is consumed with self-hate and drinks to escape the memories of his father's sadness and his mother's death. Myles is writing letters to a mother he has never met. Three different people from three different times each explore the dark side of relationships, search for beauty in sadness and try to bear the burden of guilt from living in a world we are powerless to fix.