Jon McGregor

Join us at the bookshop in Ely as we welcome back Jon McGregor from his epic bike ride! By the time he arrives, he’ll have pedalled from his home in Nottingham, visiting independent bookshops on his way to help publicise his book.

The award-winning novelist returns with Lean Fall Stand, a stunning novel that mesmerizingly and tenderly unpicks the notion of heroism and explores the indomitable human impulse to tell our stories – even when words fail us. A meditation on the line between sacrifice and selfishness this is a story of the undervalued, unrecognised courage it can take just to get through the day.

When an Antarctic research expedition goes wrong, the consequences are far-reaching – for the men involved and for their families back home.

Robert “Doc” Wright, a veteran of Antarctic field work, holds the clues to what happened, but he is no longer able to communicate them. While Anna, his wife, navigates the sharp contours of her new life as a carer, Robert is forced to learn a whole new way to be in the world.

There’ll be a celebratory glass awaiting both him and you to mark the home run of an extraordinary day.