Assembly: Natasha Brown

Blistering, fearless and unforgettable, a literary debut from an astonishing new talent in British fiction, for fans of Raven Leilani, Claudia Rankine and Jenny Offill

'Natasha Brown's exquisite prose, daring structure and understated elegance are utterly captivating. She is a stunning new writer' Bernardine Evaristo, author of the Booker Prize-winning Girl, Woman, Other

'Bold and original, with a cool intelligence, and so very truthful about the colonialist structure of British society: how it has poisoned even our language, making its necessary dismantling almost the stuff of dreams. I take hope from Assembly, not just for our literature but also for our slow awakening' Diana Evans, author of the Women's Prize-shortlisted Ordinary People

Come of age in the credit crunch. Be civil in a hostile environment. Step out into a world of Go Home vans. Go to Oxbridge, get an education, start a career. Do all the right things. Buy a flat. Buy art. Buy a sort of happiness. But above all, keep your head down. Keep quiet. And keep going.

The narrator of Assembly is a Black British woman. She is preparing to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend's family estate, set deep in the English countryside. At the same time, she is considering the carefully assembled pieces of herself. As the minutes tick down and the future beckons, she can't escape the question: is it time to take it all apart?

Assembly is a story about the stories we live within - those of race and class, safety and freedom, winners and losers. And it is about one woman daring to take control of her own story, even at the cost of her life.