Set in 2018 and the 80s, it's a song for the broken-hearted and the big-hearted, and is, ultimately, a novel grown from gratitude, and a book full of wild hope. Next we meet Rae, still in 2018, but now in Norfolk, suffering the indignities of a family party for her father's 80th birthday. Inspired by the kindness of a stranger , Daniel boards a train and travels back to the place where he was happiest, where he once felt like he belonged - but who will be there when he arrives?

Kathryn Bevis is a poet and poetry teacher, founder of The Writing School Online, and was Hampshire Poet 2020-21.

The characters were very ‘real’ which I liked and they would be a great group of people to spend time with! Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022, Flamingo is a contemporary novel that follows two families primarily over two different time periods.

Plus, the plot was so much more intricate than I expected, addressing various important themes in a sensitive and honest way. This is a story about family, secrets, desire and duty, as well as a sensitive portrayal of the realities of homelessness and mental health. It's poignant and often relatable and I honestly could of read another 300 pages of this gorgeous novel.Heartbreaking, tender and funny, FLAMINGO is a rich, sometimes threadbare, tapestry of lives being interrupted, put on hold, and gently, carefully, beginning to move once more. Rachel Elliott is the author of Whispers Through a Megaphone , longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2016, and Do Not Feed the Bear .