Well, This Is Awkward - by Esther Walker (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Mairéad, a child-free talent agency head, has her orderly life upended when her estranged sister's daughter comes to stay after a mysterious accident. What begins as a temporary arrangement soon throws everything into question.

'I adored this lovely debut about an off-grid child and her sophisticated urban aunt' Wendy Holden, Daily Mail

'Warm and funny, what a joy!' Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed

'Sharp and funny and full of quirk and heart' Francesca Segal

'Superb. Brilliant. I adored it... Esther Walker is smart and so funny' Georgia Toffolo

'It's a page-turner' The Spectator

Mairéad is single, child-free and head of a successful influencer talent agency. The young people at work may be mean to her, she hasn't seen her only sister for nine years and she's one bad date away from giving up on men completely - but other than that, she's got life sorted.

Until Sunshine shows up. When her militant, off-grid sister has a mysterious accident, Mairéad's inscrutable niece comes to stay, turning life upside down. It's just for a couple of weeks - surely Mairéad can manage that?

But Sunshine makes her look at every single aspect of her life with different eyes. And Mairéad's afraid nothing will be the same again.

'Walker offers smart, peppy humour and good comic characters who power her tale along with brio' The Times

Review Quotes

'A funny, clever, sparkling voice' Kate Weinberg, author of There's Nothing Wrong With Her

'A treasure of a novel: warm, witty and deeply human' Celia Walden, author of Payday

'A very funny and sharply observed book that also manages to be moving. Sunny will stick with me for a long time' Sophia Money-Coutts, author of The Plus One

'Full of awesome observations of modern intergenerational manners and mores' Kate Spicer, author of Lost Dog

'I adored this lovely debut about an off-grid child and her sophisticated urban aunt... Partly a touching comedy about opposites, this is also a satire about selfish parents. Lenny and Mairead's ghastly mother Helen is one of the many masterful caricatures in this beautifully written book' Wendy Holden, Daily Mail

'It's a page-turner, silly yet serious; and, as with many good comedies, the humour comes from the pain'. The Spectator

'Oh, I love Esther Walker. Sharp and funny and full of quirk and heart, WTIA is a gorgeous book about the many paths to parenthood, and all the many ways there are to love' Francesca Segal

'Superb. Brilliant. I adored it... Esther Walker is smart and so funny. Super smart on marriage, ambition, parenting (and all the different forms it takes). I read it in a day, laughed out loud louds, and instantly thought of my friends who'd love it just as much as me' Georgia Toffolo

'This is a fabulous debut, a touching story but crammed with Esther's humour' Alexander Armstrong

'Walker offers smart, peppy humour and good comic characters who power her tale along with brio' Siobhan Murphy, The Times

'Warm and funny, what a joy!' Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed

'Warm and well-observed' Grazia

'Witty, sharp, brilliant. I DEVOURED this. An outstanding debut!' Imogen Edwards-Jones, Have You Got Anything Stronger?

About the Author

Esther Walker is a lifestyle journalist whose work has appeared in The Times and The Sunday Times, the Daily Mail, the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the i and Grazia. She is the author of the cult cooking blog Recipe Rifle and now writes the Substack newsletter The Spike, which has 6,000 subscribers. Her first two non-fiction books The Bad Cook and The Bad Mother are available as ebooks. Esther also co-hosts an award-nominated weekly topical podcast with her husband for The Times, called Giles Coren Has No Idea.