The Debut novel from Joelle Taylor
RELEASE DATE 15 FEBRUARY 2024PRE ORDERS AVAILABLE HERE FROM WATERSTONES
The tattoo was a reclamation, a flag we mounted in the centre of our own landscape.
Hackney, 2233: a woman walks into a tattoo parlour. Jones’ body is covered in tattoos but she wants to add one final inking to her gallery – a thin line of ink mixed with her blood that connects the haunting images of her body art together, creating a unique and mysterious map. But if you followed it, where might it take you? As the two artists set to work, Jones spins them the stories behind each of her tattoos. As Jones is no ordinary woman, these are no ordinary stories: each one represents a doorway into a life that Jones has fallen into, a ‘remembering’. Some of these lives were lived out in the past, others in the future, some are sideways, but each of them connects Jones to the rapt tattoo artists, though both women are – as yet – unaware of these links.
In the hands of master storyteller and poet Joelle Taylor, in exuberant and dramatic prose, we plunge into the coal mines of 19th century Lancashire and the dystopian cities of the Quiet Men, band with a gang of vigilante sex workers, enter the dark mind of an INCEL, haunt the old Maryville gay bar, and uncover dark secrets behind the production line in a mysterious factory. Our voyage with Jones through time and space is compelling, enraging, profoundly moving and absolutely unforgettable.
Set across geographies and timespans, replete with literary fireworks and writing to relish, this furious, gripping, dazzlingly original novel is a deep and bold investigation into violence, resilience and women’s stories.
Editor Jasmine Palmer commented: “The Night Alphabet is a kaleidoscopic novel that daringly enters worlds that are outside our own. Joelle is a rare and brilliant writer and I’m delighted to be working with her to bring her debut to readers.”