Bloody Awful in Different Ways by Andrev Walden

Bloody Awful in Different Ways by Andrev Walden

THE SENSATIONAL INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE AUGUST PRIZE

'Bloody awful? Bloody brilliant, more like' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Pure joyous storytelling on every page … A little treasure of a book' FREDRIK BACKMAN
'A delight from start to finish' JENNIE GODFREY
'Flawless ... So sharp, so beguiling, so acutely observed' GUARDIAN

I’m fizzing. I love not being his son.
Yes. I can feel it in my whole body. A great thrill – as if an adventure has begun. As if I’m the boy in a book about a boy who finds out his dad is the king of a magical and distant land.

Christmas, 1983. In the aftermath of yet another furious argument, seven-year-old Andrev’s mother lets him in on a secret: his father is, in fact, not his father. And so begins a new kind of childhood, in which fathers come and go, arriving in red Volvos and sweeping his mother off her feet. Fathers can be magicians or murderers, artists or thieves, and, like growing pains, or the weather, they appear uninvited and leave without warning. Fathers are drawn to his mother like moths to a flame – but even she can’t control how they behave.

Vivid and joyful, raw and tender, Bloody Awful in Different Ways is a novel about growing up in the chaos of social change; about how love begins and ends; and above all, about men. Because after all, you learn an awful lot about this strange species when you have seven fathers in seven years.

READERS LOVE BLOODY AWFUL IN DIFFERENT WAYS

'I loved this book so much. It reminds me a bit of Demon Copperhead but if Fredrik Backman was writing it' FIVE STAR READER REVIEW

'Once every now and again comes a book that I just absorb. I have to press it into people's hands and say 'you must read this'. This is one of those books: a joyful, laugh out loud, heartbreaking and uplifting wonder' FIVE STAR READER REVIEW

'Actually bloody brilliant in different ways ... Vivid and witty and punchy and just so real' FIVE STAR READER REVIEW

'Hugely readable and often very funny ... Superb' FIVE STAR READER REVIEW

'5 joyous stars. I urge you to read this. It may just be your book of the year. It is mine' FIVE STAR READER REVIEW

A LITTLE TREASURE OF A BOOKHilarious but vulnerable, clever but raw, and pure joyous storytelling on every page. You’ll come for the laughs, but you’ll stay for the love letter, from a grown man to his boy self, promising everything will be all right * Fredrik Backman, author of A Man Called Ove *
'I challenge you not to fall in love with Andrev as he thrashes doggedly through life - perpetually hopeful and inept. This is a small gem of a novel, with an irresistible voice and a teasing sidelong wit * Meg Rosoff, author of How I Live Now *
This is a truly special novel. A delight from start to finish. Captures the joy and pain of being a teenager perfectly. I adored Andrev and already miss him * Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things *
What a book! I laughed, cried, despaired and hoped for this young boy negotiating seven fathers in seven chaotic years, taking us with him for the wild ride. A story that reads this easily with consummate fluidity, pace and comic timing deserves the widest audience possible * Jo Browning Wroe, author of A Terrible Kindness *
In a perfect balance between levity and sadness, Andrev Walden depicts a boy's attempt to come to terms with a life where fathers are constantly replaced. Bloody Awful in Different Ways is a humorous examination of a different kind of childhood, which, despite the pervasive blackness, is portrayed with an inexhaustible warmth and presence * August Prize Judges *
Outstanding literature. Shamelessly entertaining * Sydsvenskan *
An incredible account of growing up * Ann-Helen Laestadius, author of Stolen *
Through Walden's precise and evocative language, we are invited into a young boy’s observations of the world and his journey into manhood. A sharply critical view of the male-dominated world is interwoven with tender portrayals of how a person is shaped by their relationships. It becomes unmistakably clear how vulnerable and strong we are in relation to one another. I laugh, I ache, and I reflect as I read Walden’s book * Lisa Ridzén, author of When the Cranes Fly South *
Walden makes both trivialities and atrocities sparkle * Aftonbladet *
This is a childhood story of the humorous kind, which occasionally resembles a fairy tale – but also has a core of seriousness and sadness, through its portrayal of men’s violence against women and children … A remarkable achievement ... A debut that bodes very well * Svenska Dagbladet *

Andrev Walden is an acclaimed Swedish journalist and columnist who has worked for Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet. In 2017, he became the first columnist to be nominated for the Swedish Grand Prize for journalism, praised for his ability to ‘find the everyday drama in the big questions’, and to make us ‘laugh and see the world, the family and ourselves in a new and slightly wiser light’. He lives in Stockholm. Bloody Awful in Different Ways is his first novel.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780241720288
ISBN 10	0241720281
Title	Bloody Awful in Different Ways
Author	Andrev Walden
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Penguin Books Ltd
Year published	2025-08-14
Number of pages	288
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.