Tasting Sunlight

An extraordinary bond develops between an angry teenage runaway and a middle-aged woman running a large farm on her own, as they work the land and slowly heal ... the sublime, achingly beautiful debut that everyone is talking about...

'A stupendous debut. A triumph. Don't miss it' Louisa Treger

'Tasting Sunlight reminded me of reading Sally Rooney's Normal People. It takes a writer of immeasurable talent to make you feel that intensely, merely by evoking ripening late summer fruit and the sound of rain on dusty ground' Elizabeth Haynes

'A sensory joy; a novel of quiet, understated beauty ... Original, luminous and intense, it's a mesmerising read' Iona Gray

'Powerful, original and engaging. I loved it' Susie Boyt

***Over 400,000 copies sold in Germany***
***Longlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize***
***THREE YEARS on the German Bestseller List***

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Teenager Sally has just run away from a clinic where she to be treated for anorexia. She's furious with everything and everyone, and wants to be left in peace.

Liss is in her forties, living alone on a large farm that she runs single-handedly. She has little contact with the outside world, and no need for other people.

From their first meeting, Sally realises that Liss isn't like other adults; she expects nothing of Sally and simply accepts who she is, offering her a bed for the night with no questions asked.

That night becomes weeks and then months, as an unlikely friendship develops and these two damaged women slowly open up – connecting to each other, reconnecting with themselves, and facing the darkness in their pasts through their shared work on the land.

Achingly beautiful, profound, invigorating and uplifting, Tasting Sunlight is a story of friendship across generations, of love and acceptance, of the power of nature to heal and transform, and the goodness that surrounds us, if only we take time to see it...

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'Written with beautiful simplicity, this sensitive and profound story examines how we heal and help each other, delivered with deep insight and huge heart' Doug Johnstone

'A truly special book. Powerful, lyrical and profoundly affecting, Ewald Arenz spins a tale of friendship, restoration and possibility, with utmost heart and care. I loved it!' Miranda Dickinson

'An exquisitely written, heart-warming story ... the smells, tastes, sounds and rhythms of nature are described with sensuous clarity, so you feel as if you are there, picking potatoes from the earth, tending the bees, and tasting the pears. Just beautiful!' Gill Paul

'Told with honesty and a clear-sighted understanding of human nature ... I loved it' Michael J. Malone

'The simple minutiae of everyday life becomes intricate and essential: rituals that connect one woman to the land and her heritage, and show a lost, younger one a different truth. Moving and heart-wrenching, but ultimately uplifting' Carol Lovekin

'Breathtakingly beautiful' Louise Beech

'A simply wonderful, heartwarming read...' Fiona Sharp, Bookseller

[*****]

'A story that breaks your heart, and fills it too' Bookly Matters

'The perfect story for our time ... uplifting, healing and truly exceptional' Random Things through My Letterbox

'Poignantly, gently and profoundly evocative' TripFiction