Nothing Special
By Nicole Flattery

ANand IRISH TIMESand BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023_______________'A blade-sharp coming-of-age novel'and SPECTATOR'Confirms Flattery as a bracingly original writer'and IRISH INDEPENDENT'In enviably elegant prose, she manages to be both arch and deadly serious'and LOUISE KENNEDY_______________A wildly original debut novel about two young women navigating the complex worlds of Andy Warhol's Factory, and coming of age in 1960s New YorkNew York City, 1966. Seventeen-year-old Mae lives in a run-down apartment with her alcoholic mother and her mother's sometimes-boyfriend, Mikey. She is turned off by the petty girls at her high school, and the sleazy men she typically meets. When she drops out, she is presented with a job offer that will remake her world entirely: she is hired as a typist for the artist Andy Warhol.Warhol is composing an unconventional novel by recording the conversations and experiences of his many famous and alluring friends. Tasked with transcribing these tapes alongside several other girls, Mae quickly befriends Shelley and the two of them embark on a surreal adventure at the fringes of the countercultural movement. Going to parties together, exploring their womanhood and sexuality, this should be the most enlivening experience of Mae's life. But as she grows increasingly obsessed with the tapes and numb to her own reality, Mae must grapple with the thin line between art and voyeurism and determine how she can remain her own person as the tide of the sixties sweeps over her.Nothing Specialand is a whip-smart coming-of-age story about friendship, independence and the construction of art and identity, bringing to life the experience of young women in this iconic and turbulent moment._______________PRAISE FORand SHOW THEM A GOOD TIME:'A masterclass . . . Bold, irreverent and agonisingly funny'and Sally Rooney'Announces the arrival of a brilliant talent'and Financial Times'Explores difficult questions about self-worth, agency and intimacy with thrilling sharpness'and Sunday Times'Demands repeated reading'and Jon McGregorA 2023 HIGHLIGHT FOR:and THE TIMES * TELEGRAPH * STYLIST * GQ * GUARDIAN * HARPER'S BAZAAR * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *and WATERSTONES *and i-Dand *and IRISH TIMES * HUFFINGTON POST UK