At the Table

A smart, readable and sharply contemporary debut, full of awkward family lunches and drunken weddings, darting between Camberwell flats, Soho bars and late-night Ubers * The Times and Sunday Times Best Books of 2022 *What sets At the Table apart is Powell’s acute understanding not just of how we interact in the modern world…but the eternals of the human comedy: how people fool themselves, make excuses, get it wrong and keep trying anyway – John Self * The Times *Powell is a fantastic writer who exercises perfect control. Every detail is forensically, sympathetically observed, and while there’s a lot that’s tragic, it’s often very close to comedy – Wendy Holden * Daily Mail *The story’s centre is Nicole - a spiky and charismatic woman struggling to get her life in order … Like Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag and Rooney’s Marianne, Nicole is her own woman: a complex and satisfying presence. At the Table is rich with delights – Erica Wagner * Harper’s Bazaar *Filled with razor-sharp dialogue and psychological acuity, At the Table is an astute debut novel about dysfunctional family life – Hannah Beckerman * Observer *I have rarely seen the relationship between parents and their grown-up children so deftly exposed. I sat, at the end of it, startled, close to tears. It made me want to call my mother immediately – Sophie HeawoodClaire Powell’s great skill is to reveal to the reader what her characters struggle to realize themselves … Its themes are unremarkable - love, self-knowledge, the feeling everyone else is living while you are standing still … yet almost everything in it feels true – Claire Allfree * Metro *At The Table is an assured, exquisitely drawn novel that fans of Sorrow And Bliss will adore – Sarra Manning * Red magazine (online) *Well-written, witty family drama * Good Housekeeping *A beautifully-written novel about what keeps a family together and what tears it apart – Lissa EvansAt the Table is a hugely intelligent, emotionally astute novel about family dynamics, and Claire Powell is an incredible new talent – Marian KeyesPainfully funny, acutely well-observed, powerfully resonant in its humanity and emotional accuracy. I missed this book whenever I wasn’t reading it – Luke KennardA lovely novel. I adored the precision with which these people are seen, and the exactness of the social setting. I found myself absorbed in them, caring about them, wanting them to do the right thing, and I was very sorry to leave them. It’s a novel Elizabeth Taylor wouldn’t wouldn’t have minded writing, and there aren’t enough of those around – Philip HensherI loved this novel about a family. Each chapter has a meal (or drink, lots of drinks) and Claire Powell’s writing and characters are funny and heartbreaking and moreish. I’m jealous of anyone who hasn’t read it yet – Flynn Berry, author of Northern SpyBrilliantly clever and funny and sad – India Knight

Claire Powell was born and brought up in South-East London. She is a graduate of the UEA Creative Writing MA, where she was awarded the Malcolm Bradbury Bursary and the Malcolm Bradbury Continuation Prize. Her short fiction has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and in 2017 she won the Harper’s Bazaar short story contest.

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