The Night Alphabet
by Joelle Taylor
A Guardian Book of the Year 2024
'A glorious jewel of a novel' Sophie Ward
'Exhilarating, profoundly beautiful and exquisitely written' Salena Godden
'A mesmerising debut from one of the most talented literary stylists writing today' The Bookseller
'Hugely imaginative'Marie Claire (Best New Books, 2024)
'It's hard to think of many books more restlessly inventive' Guardian (Book of the Day)
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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 that connects the haunting images of her body art together, creating a unique and mysterious map.
As the two tattoo artists set to work, Jones tells them the story behind each tattoo. As Jones is no ordinary woman, these are no ordinary stories: each one represents a doorway to a life Jones fell into, a 'remembering'.
Set across geographies and time-spans, The Night Alphabet is a deep and bold investigation into violence, resilience and women's stories.