Incendiary

You aren't stupid.

You know there's no such thing as a perfect mother.

Plenty of other books will tell you there is, but this one won't lie to you.

I was weak and I cheated and I was punished, but my god I loved my child through all of it.

Love means you never break, and it means you're stronger than the things they do to you. I know this is true because I have been through fire, and I am the proof that love survives.

I am not a perfect mother but I will tell you the perfect truth, because this is you and me talking.

This is my story.

Winner of Somerset Maugham Awards 2006 (UK)
Winner of United States Book of the Month Club 2005 (UK)
Short-listed for Commonwealth Writers Prize 2006 (UK)

“This is a compulsive read, sure to stir the dust”

Stunning... a haunting work of art. - Newsweek

Chris Cleave has the ability to create moving and beautiful scenes within a terrifying backdrop. I couldn't put it down; it's subversive, thought-provoking and well-written. - Observer, Books of the Year

Richly sardonic and often disarmingly poignant... How can one fail to be impressed and moved? - Guardian

Cleave's heroine is by turns funny, sad, flawed, sympathetic, both damaged and indomitable, and triumphantly convincing. - Sunday Telegraph

Stunning - New York Times AND International Herald Tribune AND Bookmarks Magazine

- CITY AM

Searing.. poignant and compelling.. Utterly believable and mesmerizing - Newsday

Dark, tense and undeniably provocative - Metro

Chris Cleave is married with three children, and lives in Kingston-upon-Thames. He keeps a website at and can be found on twitter.com/chriscleave.

You aren't stupid. You know there's no such thing as a perfect mother.Plenty of other books will tell you there is, but this one won't lie to you.I was weak and I cheated and I was punished, but my god I loved my child through all of it.Love means you never break, and it means you're stronger than the things they do to you. I know this is true because I have been through fire, and I am the proof that love survives.I am not a perfect mother but I will tell you the perfect truth, because this is you and me talking.This is my story.

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