Going Out

‘“Going Out” takes the most important human preoccupations and fashions a dazzling entertainment out of them. It is beautifully controlled, incredibly disciplined, and points the way to a new future for English fiction.’ Matt Thorne

‘Original, funny and full of insight. Scarlett Thomas’s voice is pitch-perfect and she has created a brilliant and assured novel with themes that resonate long after the book has been put down.’ Chrissie Glazebrook, author of ‘The Madolescents’

‘Full of love, honesty, humour and sadness, Scarlett Thomas once again defies classification. “Going Out” is a story which will remain with you long after you’ve come to its end and will show you that there is far more to fiction writing than you have believed before.’ Rebbecca Ray, author of ‘A Certain Age’

‘Fans of Coupland and Murakami: here is your new favourite author.’ Matt Thorne

He wants to go out. She wants to stay in. For some reason, they are best friends.

Luke is allergic to the sun. Tewnty-five and housebound, he’s stuck in his bedroom where the world comes to him through TV, the internet and Julie’s nightly visits. It is October 2000, and he has vowed to find a cure for his allergy by the end of the year.

While Luke searches the internet for healers, Julie is happy living with her dad, working at the local retail park and thinking about maths theorems that no one else understands. As long as she doesn't have to leave home, everything’s OK.

When a healer contacts Luke and claims that he can cure him, the two have to face their fears and embark on a journey that might just change their lives. With four friends – Charlotte, David, Leanne and Chantel, and armed with rolls of tin foil, wellies and a homemade space suit – they set off in a VW Camper van in the rain, driving on B-roads through the October floods, not knowing what they might find.