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Keeping the House

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Keeping the House

By: Tice Cin
Narrated by: Tice Cin, Serena Manteghi
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About this listen

Cabbages... The Turkish variety are prized for their enlarged leaf bud, that’s where we put the heroin...

There’s a stash of heroin waiting to be imported, and no one seems sure what to do with it... But Ayla’s a gardener, and she has a plan.

Offering a fresh and funny take on the machinery of the North London heroin trade, Keeping the House lifts the lid on a covert world thriving just beneath notice: not only in McDonald's queues and men's clubs, but in spotless living rooms and whispering kitchens. Spanning three generations, this is the story of the women who keep their family - and their family business - afloat, juggling everything from police surveillance to trickier questions of community, belonging and love.

Great for fans of Zadie Smith, Monica Ali and Brit Bennett.

Tice Cin is an interdisciplinary artist from north London. A London Writers Award-winner, her work has been published by Extra Teeth and Skin Deep and commissioned by places like Battersea Arts Centre and St Paul's Cathedral. An alumnus of Barbican Young Poets, she now creates digital art as part of Design Yourself - a collective based at the Barbican Centre - exploring what it means to be human when technology is changing everything. A producer and DJ, she has released an EP, Keeping the House, to accompany her debut novel of the same name.

©2021 SAGA Egmont (P)2021 SAGA Egmont
City Life Family Life Genre Fiction Urban Fiction England Funny
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The more I think about this book the more it amazes me. Juggling multiple threads/an ensemble cast of characters can be difficult, but Tice Cin makes it look easy. She weaves together a rich tapestry with unique side characters, complex themes and intersecting moments so effortlessly. Everything just feels so “well observed”: a snapshot of a community and a culture seen from many sides.

On the surface, the book’s description makes seem like a standard crime novel. But, it’s way more human/family/community centric. Like “a crime story viewed through a thick/dreamy fog”, there’s a layer of beauty/poetry that you don’t normally get.
It’s not afraid to put the plot on the back burner, shifting its focus to explore the characters in smaller more mundane/intimate moments.

One of the best debut novels I’ve read in years. The voiceover definitely adds to it too (I read the book with it on in the background).

One of the best debut novels I’ve read in years

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Loved every second. Narration made it even better. Incredible debut novel, can’t wait to read more.

Unbelievably good

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