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Kerry Andrew
Join us in conversation with Kerry Andrew about their evocative, mysterious and beautiful third novel, We Are Together Because.
Described by Robert Macfarlane as “a writer and musician of frankly alarming talent”, Kerry’s work is often experimental and steeped in folkloric influence, exploring themes of community, landscape and myth.
Their work as an author, composer and musician is highly acclaimed and award winning. Sarah Waters, author of The Paying Guests, praised We Are Together Because saying “Andrew makes fine writing look effortless. This rich, mysterious novel glows with intelligence, poetry and heart. I loved it”.
We’re excited to welcome the incredibly talented Kerry Andrew to the Book Tree to discuss their latest book, which was recently released in paperback, and their wider work as an author and musician. We Are Together Because was a Marie Claire Best Book of 2024, who said of the novel Andrew spins an elegantly unsettling web from the start. With echoes of Leave the World Behind…Andrew’s tale takes on a vivid, haunting life of its own.
The evening will be held in the Book Tree’s atmospheric upstairs performance space. Complementary wine and cordial will be available before the event and during the interval.
The bookshop door will be open from 7pm and the event will start at 7.30pm. There will be opportunity for audience questions and for Kerry to sign books towards the end of the evening.
About the Book
An unsettling, moving and haunting novel which deftly questions what happens when layers of the self, and society and certainty begin to melt away — Andrew McMillan, author of Pity
Luke, Connor, Thea and Violet spend their first holiday together alone in their father’s house in the south of France. The boys don’t really know him, and they don’t really know their half-sisters, either. Luke, the most easy going of the four, is keen to bring a new shape to their overlapping, unconventional family; Connor and Thea, born just six months apart but a world of difference between them, are struggling to hide their attraction to each other; Violet, the youngest, is trying to figure some things out about herself, and trying desperately to forget others.
Sex in all its multiple forms is on the minds of the siblings during the hot, lethargic summer days spent next to the pool, but the land around them is starting to respond to something inexplicable and eerie. Animals begin to act strangely. There is a buzzing sound that only Connor can hear, and when Violet one night sees a plane light abruptly disappear in the sky, it signals the beginning of something that threatens so much more than their turbulent holiday.
With considerable power and unfolding revelation, We Are Together Because starts as a sensual summer drama and very quickly becomes about our own survival, asking us what is truly important in life, and how far we’ve strayed from our place in a more fluid, vibrant, natural world.
Andrew is one of our most exceptional polymaths… We Are Together Because is a sensitive and nuanced portrayal of contemporary family dynamics…that transforms into a deeply moving and thoroughly original evocation of the end times — The New European
About the Author
Kerry Andrew is a UK-based writer, composer and performer, and the author of three literary novels, Swansong, SKIN and We Are Together Because. They won the Edinburgh Short Story Award in 2024 and have been twice shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award.
With a PhD in composition from the University of York and four British Composer Awards, Kerry specialises in experimental vocal and choral music, music-theatre and community music, creates alt-folk as You Are Wolf and co-founded the award-winning Juice Vocal Ensemble.
Find Out More
Read Kerry’s full bio online here and explore some of their work via this page