Sullivan Moss is useless. Once charming, he's now such a loser that he can't even commit suicide properly. Waking up in hospital after falling the wrong way on a rooftop, he comes to a decision: after a life of regrets, Sully wants to do one useful thing. He shouldn't waste perfectly good organs just because he's an idiot: he's going to donate a kidney. This gift to a stranger will make up for some of his mistakes. As he scrambles over the hurdles to become a donor, Sully has to sort himself out. He manages to hold down a job, sober up and get fit. He makes new friends, not least radio producer Natalie and her son Louis, and reconnects with old ones, like schoolfriend Tim. Almost accidentally, Sully forges a new life for himself. Just don't ask him what he'll do after the donation. From the creator of Offspring comes a smart, moving and wry contemporary novel that will stay with you long after the reading. 'With characteristic charm, wit and humanity, Debra Oswald has crafted an irresistible story of metamorphosis, as Sullivan Moss evolves from a self-described bag of spare parts to something altogether more whole - and way more complicated. As Sullivan opts in to the mess that is life, Oswald makes the most of every twist and turn, while also finding room for poignancy, insightfulness and the ups and downs that are part of being human.' Nick Earls 'I don't know when I have had the absolute pleasure of immersing myself in a novel as rich and rewarding as Useful. With gimlet eye and boundless heart, Debra Oswald pulls together the threads of disparate lives, including an old dog, a suicidal loser, a narcissistic movie star and a crew of Khmer asbestos removers. Their fates entwine in a plot that is by turns dark and light, brimming with insight, mesmerising, and above all, true. This novel is more than useful, it's absolutely essential.' Geraldine Brooks.
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