Author(s): Tice Cin

Novel

Cabbages.

The Turkish variety are prized for their enlarged leaf bud, that's where we put the heroin...

Imagine a cabbage: at its centre is North London's Turkish heroin trade, and the overlapping leaves are the stories of its players. There's Damla, a Turkish-Cypriot girl growing up in Tottenham, and her mother Ayla, who moved there from North Cyprus in the aftermath of the 1985 Broadwater Farm riots. There's Mehmet, a mover in the trade, and Ali, who's got big hopes for Ayla.

A bewitching debut that lifts the lid on a covert world,Keeping the House is a dynamic, electric introduction to a fascinating new voice.

Longlisted for the 2022 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize Shortlisted for The 2022 Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year Shortlisted for the 2022 Desmond Elliott Prize Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Book of the Year – Discover Award Winner of a 2022 Somerset Maugham Award Cabbages . . . The Turkish variety are prized for their enlarged leaf bud, that’s where we put the heroin . . . There’s a stash of heroin waiting to be imported, and no one seems sure what to do with it . . . But Ayla’s a gardener, and she has a plan. Offering a fresh and funny take on the machinery of the North London heroin trade, Keeping the House lifts the lid on a covert world thriving just beneath notice: not only in McDonald’s queues and men’s clubs, but in spotless living rooms and whispering kitchens. Spanning three generations, this is the story of the women who keep their family – and their family business – afloat, juggling everything from police surveillance to trickier questions of community, belonging and love.