Big Nobody - by Alex Kadis (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A wickedly funny coming-of-age novel about a misfit teenager in London determined to eliminate the one thing standing between her and a good life: her father

I think it's safe to say that my father was probably always an abomination of nature.

It's 1974 in London and Connie Costa's already pitiful life has gone off the rails. She's spiraling from the loss of her mother and younger brothers in a tragic accident. And the man responsible is her Dad--otherwise known as "The Fat Murderer."

Kept at home under his increasingly tyrannical rule, Connie is an outcast who spends her nights conversing with the David Bowie poster on her wall and raiding her stash of whiskey and chocolate. Her only social outlet is the weekly gatherings with her father and their immigrant community of Greek "Freaks." There she finds her life's one bright spot: sneaking off with her friend Vas to smoke cigarettes, debate literature, and joke about whether it is finally time to run away together. But when Connie sees an opportunity to get out from under her father's thumb for good, she must make a perilous decision that will change her forever.

Devastatingly tender and riotously funny, Alex Kadis' Big Nobody tells a warmhearted story about the rocky path to finding ourselves and the people who keep us afloat.

Review Quotes

"This audacious debut novel reminds readers that humor might be the best way to talk about heartbreak. Big Nobody offers us both: It's a hilarious tale of awkward (is there any other kind?) adolescence that is also a moving story of family dysfunction. Don't worry: There's trauma, but there's triumph, too."--Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind and Entitlement

"Big Nobody is hands down the funniest, most original novel I've read in ages; it's also a surprisingly moving story about what it means to strike out on your own in a hostile, bewildering world, told by one of the most memorable new narrators in contemporary fiction. Keep Alex Kadis on your radar--she's a force to be reckoned with. I am totally, utterly, out-of-my-mind obsessed with this book."--Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding

"Riotously funny, nostalgic, and immensely touching . . . If this isn't a hit I will eat my hat."--Pandora Sykes, author of How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?

"With Big Nobody, a big new voice has arrived in fiction. Chock with wit, whimsy, and the poignancy of unprocessed pain, this book broke my heart one minute and had me belly laughing the next. In Connie, with her resilience and fierce determination to live on her own terms, Alex Kadis has given us a protagonist who will stay with you for a very long time."--Xochitl Gonzalez, author of Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last

About the Author

Alex Kadis is half-British, half-Greek, and grew up in Leyton and Walthamstow, East London. She studied English Literature at Goldsmiths University before embarking on a music journalism career. She was Features Editor at Smash Hits in its heyday (RIP) and has also written for various newspapers and magazines, including Sunday Times Style and Q Magazine. She then went into artist management and now works as a consultant in the music industry. Alex suffers from delusions of grandeur and still believes she will, one day, headline Wembley Stadium.