I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

*NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING ANTHONY BOYLE, JOE COLE, JAY LYCURGO, DARYL MCCORMACK AND LOLA PETTICREW*

LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2025

'Shows us how to love one another and hold on to what matters most'
Tice Cin, author of Keeping the House

'Striking, moving, subtly radical'
Guardian

'Confirms Goddard as one of the best writers of our time'
Lucia Osborne-Crowley, author of The Lasting Harm
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Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli and Conor grew up together. They played together, skipped school together, and dreamt of everything they'd do with their lives.

Now they are thirty, and only Rian has made it out of the estate and moved away to another city, but his money doesn't stop him clinging to a vision of the past that is quickly slipping away. Oli is fading by the day, drinking and snorting his way through the endless boredom, while Conor has a baby on the way and a business plan he hopes will change everything. Patrick and Shiv are as in love as ever, but even they are rocked when an old secret opens up new wounds . . .

Bold, ambitious and stylistically striking, I See Buildings Fall like Lightning lays bare the ways that place and circumstance shape us, explores the redeeming and transforming beauty of friendship and examines the true limits of hope and forgiveness.
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PRAISE FOR I SEE BUILDINGS FALL LIKE LIGHTNING . . .

'Striking, moving, subtly radical' Guardian

'Earthy, multivocal and accomplished throughout' Daily Telegraph

'Tender and fierce in turn, Goddard writes about class and friendship with the deftest of touches' Sophie Mackintosh, author of The Water Cure

'One of the most beautiful novels I've read in a very long time, full of rare elegance, sorrow, wit and warmth, I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning tells the story of what's left when dreaming feels impossible' Ali Millar, author of The Last Days

'I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning has an honesty that shows us how to love one another and hold onto what matters most' Tice Cin, author of Keeping the House

'This is a novel full of hard material but infused with dignity and originality. The language is swaggering, the character development deeply subtle . . . genuinely beautiful' Niamh Campbell, author of We Were Young

'An enraging, enthralling and ultimately heart-breaking novel . . . it is a story about the ways such friendships can make you whole or can tear you in half' Aidan Cottrell-Boyce, author of The End of Nightwork

'Keiran Goddard's is a mind-blowing talent, his writing so beautiful. I can't wait to read everything he ever publishes.' Lauren Brown, author of Hands

'The thing about Keiran Goddard is he'll make you laugh and weep in the same paragraph. This is such a humane, beautiful novel about being from a place you can neither leave nor stay in' Heather Parry, author of Orpheus Builds a Girl

'This heartfelt, gut-wrenching novel confirms Goddard as one of the best writers of our time. It's as poignant as it is artful, and once you read it, it will never leave you . . . an astonishing achievement' Lucia Osborne-Crowley, author of My Body Keeps Your Secrets

'As painful as a punch and as tender as the bruise that follows. A fresh and searing novel for our times' Victoria MacKenzie, author of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain

'Extraordinary writing about ordinary people' Kirkus

'Tender, violent, affecting . . . this book takes real pleasure in language' ipaper

'Readable, warm . . . a moving read that reflects our world' Morning Star

'Melancholy and poetic . . . you truly live inside these characters and their worries, hopes and dreams all become yours' Daily Express

Keiran Goddard grew up in Shard End, Birmingham in a working-class family. He is the author of one poetry pamphlet, two poetry collections and the novel Hourglass. His debut collection was shortlisted for the Melita Hume Prize, he was the runner up in the William Blake Prize and Hourglass was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott prize. He speaks internationally on issues related to social change and currently develops research on workers' rights, the future of work, automation and trade unionism.