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Costa-shortlisted Simon Wroe brings Nineteen Eighty-Four up to date in a tale of dubious journalism, post-truth politics and overbearing Russians.

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A STORY FOR OUR TROUBLED TIMES

´Nineteen Eighty-Four crossed with Adrian Mole´ Daily Mail
´Scarily prophetic about news, freedom and truth´ Antonia Hodgson

Ellis Dau dreams of the West. But he is growing up in Kyrzbekistan, a secretive nation where revolution barely makes the news. A country where the newspapers peddle outright lies, and larger-than-life characters make promises they can´t keep.Following his expulsion from school, Ellis is sent to work with his father. His father is editor of The Chronicle, the last bastion of free speech in their strange, strange land. And it is under threat.

As Ellis navigates his collapsing, blacked-out city - and his feelings for the local oligarch´s daughter - he realises that some things are worth fighting for. But can he save his family and the newspaper fuelled only by youth, grain spirit and unrequited love?

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Clear-eyed and caustic... Nineteen Eighty-Four crossed with Adrian Mole Daily Mail

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Wroe, Simon
Simon Wroe is a freelance journalist and former chef. He writes food and culture features for the GUARDIAN and arts reviews for the ECONOMIST. His first book, CHOP CHOP, was shortlisted for the 2014 Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and won a Betty Trask Award. He was born in 1982 and lives in Camberwell, south London.

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