The News Where You Are

by Catherine O'Flynn

Set in Birmingham, The News Where You Are tells the funny, touching story of Frank, a local TV news presenter. Beneath his awkwardly corny screen persona, Frank is haunted by disappearances: the mysterious hit and run that killed his predecessor Phil Smethway; the demolition of his father's post-war brutalist architecture; and the unmarked passing of those who die alone in the city. Frank struggles to make sense of these absences while having to report endless local news stories of holes opening up in people's gardens and trying to cope with his resolutely miserable mother.
The result is that rare thing: a page-turning novel which asks the big questions in an accessible way, and is laugh-out-loud funny, genuinely moving and ultimately uplifting.

(From Publisher).

Catherine O'Flynn, the youngest of six children, was born and raised in Birmingham, where her parents ran a sweet shop.
She worked in a variety of jobs including teacher, postwoman, retail assistant, journalist and mystery shopper before becoming a novelist.
Her debut novel, What Was Lost, won the Costa First Novel Award, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, and was longlisted for the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize. She was named Waterstone’s Newcomer of the Year in 2008 at the Galaxy British Book Awards.
Her short stories and articles have featured in Granta magazine, Good Housekeeping and on Radio 4.
The News Where You Are is her second novel. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and daughter

A well-crafted novel with a strong local flavour, exploring the themes of loss and change. It has vibrant characters, bursts of humour, good dialogue and is a superb evocation of a changing city.