Sea State

'Sea State marks the arrival of a gifted and exciting new voice' Jon McGregor, author of Reservoir 13

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PORTICO PRIZE
A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF 2021

'It's extraordinary. It takes you places so few books do'Observer

'Acidic, addictive reporting with a fictional veneer. Sea State's writing alone is worth the admission price'Financial Times

Tabitha Lasley left her job, her relationship and London, and headed to Aberdeen to meet offshore oil rig workers. She wanted to see what men are like with no women around. She soon finds out what she is like with no one else around, save for itinerant men who spend half their lives stranded in the middle of the sea. Alone, and contemplating the wreckage of her former life, she dives into a relationship with the first rig worker she meets, a reckless affair that lays them both bare.

'She has the skill, a Joan Didion kind of skill, of inflecting non-fiction material subjectively, a habit of assessing situations via her nervous system' Andrew O'Hagan, author of Mayflies