Which as You Know Means Violence : On Self-Injury as Art and Entertainment

Shortlisted for the 2022 Goldsmiths PrizeShortlisted for the 2022 Jhalak PrizeLonglisted for the 2022 Republic of Consciousness PrizeLonglisted for the 2022 Desmond Elliott PrizeA teacher asked me a question, and I opened my mouth as a sort of formality but closed it softly, knowing with perfect certainty that nothing would ever come out again. Ruby gives up talking at a young age. Her mother isn’t always there to notice; she comes and goes and goes and comes, until, one day, she doesn’t. Silence becomes Ruby’s refuge, sheltering her from the weather of her mother’s mental illness and a pressurized suburban atmosphere. Plangent, deft, and sparkling with wry humour, Somebody Loves You is a moving exploration of how we choose or refuse to tell the stories that shape us.