Bonding

I absolutely loved it. Anyone interested in the relationship between tech, our bodies and our minds should bump it to the top of their queue immediately – Zadie Smith, author of The FraudAs relishable as it is terrifying, Bonding is an audacious, hot, deeply uncomfortable and genuinely thrilling deep-dive into the dystopian future in which we now live – Saba Sams, author of Send NudesSo obviously impressive … With its dissident intelligence and its comprehensive vision of a devastated social sphere, Mariel Franklin’s Bonding is the work of an author whose importance already feels assured * The Observer *This smart, disturbing debut reads like a nineteenth-century novel of manners for the digital age … Franklin has written one of the most stimulating novels I have read * The Times *With dazzling imagination, Franklin fashions cutting-edge concepts, then uses them to pry open the human heart and interrogate the eternal questions therein. Chilling but warm, eagle-eyed yet sweeping, Bonding is a fascinating, ambitious tale for our modern age. – Andrew Lipstein, author of The VeganFast, harsh, smart and fun * Guardian *Somewhere between Big Pharma-topia and dating app start-ups is Bonding’s biggest surprise – and it’s heart-shaped. Part love story, part love-mare, Bonding asks big, bold questions about the future of human relations and relationships –  Sarah May, author of BeckyFranklin’s agile, thought-provoking tale throbs with ideas, fears and cautions. * Financial Times *An addictive and unsparing novel. Mariel Franklin contends with some of our most urgent questions … a gorgeous, clear-eyed, and terrifying debut, Bonding is a love story for our times. – Claudia Day, author of DaughterFranklin arranges her vision of the contemporary moment in a way that makes the reader see our predicament anew. She is a seer and this novel of ideas is funny, sexy and surprising. – Luke Brown, author TheftFranklin is a fearless writer. In Bonding, she has written a novel that is somehow both timely and timeless. – Keiran Goddard, author of I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

Mariel Franklin lives and works in London. She has a MA in English from Edinburgh University and later went on to study Fine Art at Goldsmiths. After graduating, she spent several years working in data administrating in the tech industry. Bonding is her first novel.