Upward Bound

Woody Brown’s vibrant, profoundly moving debut novel takes us to sun-bleached California, to a daycare centre for Los Angeles’s disabled community.

‘Wonderfully inspirational’ PAUL BEATTY
‘A complicated joy’ RODDY DOYLE
‘Awe-inspiring…deeply funny and eye-opening’ MARIA SEMPLE

Among the clients and staff are Carlos, a charismatic aide who lost his mother as a boy, and Jorge, who is gentle, nonspeaking and prone to escape despite Carlos’s best efforts. Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy, pines for Ann, the lifeguard for the summer who feels out of her depth. Then there’s Dave, the centre’s director. He wanted to be an actor, but finds himself on a very different path.

At the heart of Upward Bound is Walter, a recent college student returning to the company of his peers after a family tragedy. Around him, a story unfolds of friendships forged, connections missed and the dreams – some new, others almost forgotten – that shape us. With his wit, empathy and astonishing gifts as a storyteller, Woody Brown immerses us in life as we have never experienced it before.

‘A luminous novel of human connection and hope that will stay with me’ CECILE PIN

‘A story of friendship, dreams, and rich inner worlds’ SEÁN HEWITT

‘Gives us the world from the perspective of someone rarely noticed or understood… Brilliant’ RIVKA GALCHEN

‘A highly original, captivating novel about the power of human relationships’ CAOILINN HUGHES

‘Woody Brown accomplishes the seemingly impossible’ MONA SIMPSON

‘One of those novels you want to give to everyone in your life’ AUGUST THOMPSON