Gloria Don't Speak

By (author) Apps, Lucy
Short description/annotation:

Gloria has a learning disability. She’s nineteen, and there’s nothing to do except wander the local parks, look for friendship and keep out of trouble – or go round Jack’s. Jack needs Gloria''s company, but he’s unpredictable and angry at the world.

Description:

Gloria has a learning disability. She’s nineteen, and there’s nothing to do except wander the local parks, look for friendship and keep out of trouble – or go round Jack’s. Jack needs Gloria''s company, but he’s unpredictable and angry at the world.

After an act of violence, their friendship has to end. Now Gloria''s on her own.

But when she hears Jack''s out of prison, her whole world is turned upside-down.

Heartbreaking and beautiful, Gloria Don’t Speak is a deeply empathetic portrait of a woman dealing with vulnerability, violence – and the desire for connection.

Review quote:
“Lucid and beautifully observed, this story of a vulnerable person navigating the world brims with pinpoint detail and creeping threat. A brilliant and assured debut.” Simon Wroe, Chop, Chop and Ghost Month


"Gloria Don''t Speak is unflinching and full of heart; a moving story, told with uncommon tenderness, that offers a window to a life rarely found in literature."  Tom Newlands, Only Here, Only Now
Biographical note:
Lucy Apps was born in East London, trained as a doctor, and now works as a GP. She volunteers with women with learning disabilities. She is the sister of Peter Apps, whose book Show Me the Bodies (about the Grenfell tragedy) won the Orwell Prize. Gloria Don’t Speak is Lucy’s debut novel.