We Are Not in the World

‘Memorably disturbing…stylish, deft…very much of the moment…brilliant’ Guardian

‘Haunting, mesmerising, and so deeply intelligent about the interwoven strengths and frailties of the human heart.’ Kamila Shamsie

‘Compelling and profoundly moving…establishes O’Callaghan as one of the most talented contemporary Irish writers.’ Irish Times

Heartbroken after a long, painful love affair, a man drives a haulage lorry from England to France. Travelling with him is a secret passenger - his daughter. Twenty-something, unkempt, off the rails.

With a week on the road together, father and daughter must restore themselves and each other, and repair a relationship that is at once fiercely loving and deeply scarred.

As they journey south, down the motorways, through the service stations, a devastating picture reveals itself: a story of grief, of shame, and of love in all its complex, dark and glorious manifestations.
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MORE PRAISE FOR WE ARE NOT IN THE WORLD:
‘Unusual, utterly original and mysterious … a must read’ Elaine Feeney
‘…the book stays with you, a haunting presence you cannot - and do not want to - escape…astounding.’ Ruth Gilligan Extraordinary…achingly sad and tender and sexy, and the writing is very beautiful.’ Louise Kennedy
‘Wonderful, wrenching … full of enormous feelings very precisely rendered’ Sara Baume
‘Elusive, unsettling, beautiful, haunting. This is a complex, devastating study of human relations; a portrait of intense love and damage in equal measure.’ Lisa Harding
‘A whirlpool of memories, regrets and hopes’ Tim Pears
‘An uncanny ability to turn the seemingly insignificant into something monumental’ Jan Carson