At Certain Points We Touch

Description

SELECTED FOR STYLIST'S FICTION YOU CAN'T MISS IN 2022 - 'AN ESSENTIAL READ' NAMED AS A BOOK OF 2022 BY ESQUIRE, STYLIST, SHEERLUXE AND FOYLES 'A stone-cold masterpiece by a shocking new talent' OLIVIA LAING 'Pure delight ... A queer romance novel like no other' TATLER It's four in the morning, and our narrator is walking home from the club when they realise that it's February 29th - the birthday of the man who was something like their first love. Piecing together art, letters and memory, they set about trying to write the story of a doomed affair that first sparked and burned a decade ago. Ten years earlier, and our young narrator and a boy named Thomas James fall into bed with one another over the summer of their graduation. Their ensuing affair, with its violent, animal intensity and its intoxicating and toxic power play will initiate a dance of repulsion and attraction that will cross years, span continents, drag in countless victims - and culminate in terrible betrayal. At Certain Points We Touch is a story of first love and last rites, conjured against a vivid backdrop of London, San Francisco and New York - a riotous, razor-sharp coming-of-age story that marks the arrival of an extraordinary new talent. 'Lauren John Joseph writes with such wit, glamour, and style! I haven't read a book that so powerfully evokes what it's like to be a wild young artist among other wild young artists since the Bright Young Things' TORREY PETERS, author of Detransition, Baby 'Screamingly funny, scandalously hot, opulent, deep - a devastating torch song of obsession and excess' JEREMY ATHERTON LIN, author of Gay Bar 'Lauren's debut novel is so exciting. The writing is so fresh, funny and gripping - and carries the trademark wit that I have always loved from Lauren' TRAVIS ALABANZA 'The struggle to find ones place in the world as an artist and lover, creating self and culture as you go along - At Certain Points We Touch captures this fleeting, dazzling moment with glamour and heart' MICHELLE TEA

Lauren John Joseph was born in Liverpool and lives in London, they write for the page, the stage and the screen. Their film and performance work has been shown internationally across the UK, US, Europe and Asia. They are the author of the plays Boy in a Dress and A Generous Lover, and the experimental prose volume Everything Must Go. This is their first novel. laurenjohnjoseph.com @LaJohnJoseph

A stone-cold masterpiece, which in its scope, frankness and ambition reminds me of The Line of Beauty, retooled for the 21st century. By turns libidinous, hilarious, melancholy and full of feeling, it reveals Lauren John Joseph as a shocking new talent -- OLIVIA LAING Beautifully written, smart, snappy story of queer love. Incredibly funny and moving -- JUNO ROCHE This is fabulous: screamingly funny, scandalously hot, opulent, deep - a devastating torch song of obsession and excess -- JEREMY ATHERTON LIN, author of Gay Bar Heartfelt and scintillating * OBSERVER * Examines queer loss and survival elegantly, devastatingly, and critically incisive. Lauren John Joseph is a writer to reckon with. I'll read whatever they'll write next -- ISABEL WAIDNER A smart, sparkling, twisting, millennial queer odyssey ... Lithe, perspicacious, melancholic and funny as hell * ATTITUDE * A pure delight to read. Joseph presents a kaleidoscope of beautiful characters with infectious energy and harsh realities * TATLER * A moving portrait of youth, friendship and first love * OBSERVER, Debut Novelists of 2022 * Described as "a stone-cold masterpiece - The Line Of Beauty retooled for the 21st century" by writer Olivia Laing, this is the story of a destructive love affair played out over years and cities that's going to be an essential read * STYLIST, Books you can't miss in 2022 * Lauren John Joseph writes with such wit, glamour, and Style! I haven't read a book that so powerfully evokes what it's like to be a wild young artist among other wild young artists since the Bright Young Things were publishing -- TORREY PETERS, author of Detransition, Baby Lauren's debut novel is so exciting. The writing is so fresh, funny and gripping - and carries the trademark wit that I have always loved from Lauren -- TRAVIS ALABANZA Lauren John Joseph lyrically captures the hope, the tumult, and the trauma of relationships. Love's letters have rarely been more savage, poignant, or more true -- JAMES BRIDLE This vivid debut novel has a live current running through its pages ... An impressive debut with lines that linger with on the page * ESQUIRE, Books of the Year 2022 * The struggle to find ones place in the world as an artist and lover, creating self and culture as you go along - At Certain Points We Touch captures this fleeting, dazzling moment with glamour and heart -- MICHELLE TEA At Certain Points We Touch is as much a love letter to the glamour and glory of countercultural nightlife as a self-aware sendup of its absurdities and deprivations. This novel is a rollicking study of the stubbornness, irrationality, and dysfunction of the human heart, with prose as extravagant and daring as a Rococo gown. I would spend as many pages with this narrator as Lauren John Joseph cares to write -- KIM FU, author of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century A riotous coming-of-age story that marks the arrival of a bold new writer * SHEERLUXE * A searing debut * HARPER'S BAZAAR * A rich and sensuous read, a coming of age story that is full of life and love that reminded me of The Line of Beauty. Tender and dark in turn, it brings the art world at its heart and its cast list of bright young things brilliantly to life * LIVING MAGAZINE * With unique style and flair, Lauren John Joseph weaves a dreamlike coming-of-age tale about toxic relationships, wild young artists and an unspeakable betrayal * WOMAN'S OWN * A tragic, haunting and expertly crafted debut * BUZZ MAGAZINE * Elegant, sharp, and hysterical, At Certain Points We Touch asks us how do we grieve a lover who may not have been a good person. Lauren John Joseph's writing will pull you in like an alluring perfume, only to seize your heart and tear it to pieces in this spectacular debut! -- MORGAN M PAGE Hot, steamy, smart, sexy. All can describe At Certain Points We Touch, which finds the narrator reminiscing about a first love. Lauren John Joseph has their finger on the pulse of what makes readers want to eagerly turn the page as they hang on every sensual word. * Debutiful, "Can't-Miss Debut Books You Should Read This December" *