Marriage material

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD AND LONGLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE To Arjan Banga, who has returned to the Black Country after the unexpected death of his father, his family's corner shop represents everything he has tried to leave behind - a lethargic pace of life, insular rituals and ways of thinking.

But when his mother insists on keeping it open, he is dragged back, forced into big decisions about his imminent marriage back in London and thrown into the family betrayals and loyalties, loves and regrets that have played out in the shop over more than fifty years. Taking inspiration from Arnold Bennett's classic novel The Old Wives' Tale, Marriage Material tells the story of a family's three generations through the prism of a Wolverhampton corner shop: a symbol of South Asian independence and integration, but also of darker realities.

Told with humour, tenderness and insight, this is a unique and urgent survey of modern Britain by one of the country's most promising young writers, and an ingenious reimagining of a classic work of fiction.