Placeholders

James Roseman / Fiction

Book cover

UK Publisher

Verve Books

Date Published

September 26th, 2024

An unflinching and emotionally insightful debut about cultural identity, homesickness, love and loss.

In the five years following his brother’s death, Aaron has built himself a life of solitary routines. After moving from Dublin to Boston, and illegally overstaying her visa, Róisín has done the same.

When the two meet on a night out, they each find in the other something missing in their lives. A semblance of home.

Their relationship is complicated by their disparate religious backgrounds – Aaron is Jewish; Roísín is atheist – and by the harsh realities of everyday life. Just as they’re pushed to their breaking point, Roísín realises she is pregnant.

Placeholders is a poignant story of loneliness corrected and the transformative power of love. The next fix for fans of Sally Rooney, Nick Hornby, David Nicholls, Louise Kennedy and Coco Mellors.


Reviews

"A subtle, beautifully written story of two young people trying to make a life – together and as individuals – under the pressures of late capitalism… written with an unflinching tenderness"

- Larissa Pham, author of POP SONG

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