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  • Published: 5 January 2021
  • ISBN: 9781761042089
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $24.00

The Boy Who Fell to Earth




Told with Kathy Lette's razor-sharp wit, this is a funny, quirky and tender story of a mother's love for her son - and of a love affair that has no chance of running smoothly.

Meet Merlin. He's Lucy's bright, beautiful son - who just happens to be on the spectrum.
Since Merlin's father left them in the lurch, Lucy has made Merlin the centre of her world. Struggling with the joys and tribulations of raising her adorable yet challenging child (if only Merlin came with operating instructions), Lucy doesn't have room for any other man in her life.
By the time Merlin turns ten, Lucy is seriously worried that the Pope might start ringing her up for tips on celibacy, so resolves to dip a toe back into the world of dating. Thanks to Merlin's candour and quirkiness, things don't go quite to plan... Then, just when Lucy's resigned to singledom once more, Archie - the most imperfectly perfect man for her and her son - lands on her doorstep. But then, so does Merlin's father, begging for a second chance.
Does Lucy need a real father for Merlin - or a real partner for herself?

  • Published: 5 January 2021
  • ISBN: 9781761042089
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $24.00

About the author

Kathy Lette

Kathy Lette is a celebrated and outspoken comic writer who has an inimitable take on serious current issues. She is the author of fifteen bestselling novels including Puberty Blues which was made into a major film and a TV miniseries, Mad Cows which was also made into a film, starring Joanna Lumley, and How to Kill Your Husband (and other handy household hints), which was staged by the Victorian Opera. She pioneered smart, funny, feminist fiction and has been published in seventeen languages.

Kathy is an autodidact (clearly it's a word she taught herself) but has honorary doctorates from Southampton and Wollongong universities, and a Senior Honorary Fellowship from Regent's University London.

She is an ambassador for Plan International and the National Autistic Society UK. Kathy lives in Sydney and London, and can often be found at the Savoy Hotel drinking a cocktail named after her. She cites her career highlights as once teaching Stephen Fry a word and Salman Rushdie the limbo, and scripting Julian Assange's cameo in the 500th episode of The Simpsons.

Visit her website at www.kathylette.com to read her blog, follow KathyLetteAuthor on Facebook, @KathyLette on Twitter and @kathy.lette on Instagram.

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Praise for The Boy Who Fell to Earth

A rather searing read...While this is a departure for Lette, best known for pun-tastic romantic comedies, she's managed to weld all this darkness to her usual glittering style with surprising success.

Wendy Holden, Daily Mail

Kathy Lette can make even the toughest subjects funny. Romance and the more difficult shores of parenthood meld easily in this tender portrait of a deeply connected mother and son. Don't miss out on Lette's best book to date.

THE LADY

The Boy Who Fell to Earth is an engaging novel about the love between a mother and son....as good as anything Lette has written.

SUNDAY TIMES