About the Book
A student lies about her father's death- a fresh take on the campus novel and a story of deceit, denial, grief and reinvention, from an outstanding new voice in literary fiction
If I ever woke up with an ungodly dread - that I could change it all now, turn around, and confess - I ignored it. I had never been good, and there was no point in trying now.
On a small liberal arts campus in upstate New York, Charlotte begins her final year with a lie. Her father died over the summer, she says. Heart attack. Very sudden.
Charlotte had never been close with her classmates but as she repeats her tale, their expressions soften into kindness. And so she learns there are things worth lying for- attention, affection, and, as she embarks on a relationship with fellow student Katarina, even love. All she needs to do is keep control of the threads that hold her lie - and her life - together.
But six thousand miles away, alone in the grey two-up-two-down Staffordshire terrace she grew up in, her father is very much alive, watching television and drinking beer. Charlotte has always kept difficult truths at arm's length, but his resolve to visit his distant daughter might just be the one thing she can't control.
About the Author :
Grace Murray was born in 2003 and grew up in Norwich. She has recently graduated from Edinburgh University, where she read English Literature and found time to write between her studies and two part-time jobs. Her short fiction has been published in The London Magazine.
In writing Blank Canvas, Grace set out to explore themes of Catholic guilt and queer identity, clashing moral codes and lies, and the opportunity for reinvention presented by moving between countries and settings.
Blank Canvas was written over the course of a year as part of WriteNow, Penguin Random House's flagship mentorship scheme for emerging talent. Grace Murray won one of nine places on the scheme on the exceptional strength of her writing, selected from a pool of over 1,300 applicants.
Review :
Blank Canvas is razor-edged and emotionally rich, an unflinching portrait of identity and loneliness. Grace Murray’s prose navigates the desperation of loneliness and selfhood with exquisite depth, rendering even the quietest moments astonishing and haunting
‘Fantastically engaging, the kind of interior voice that ensnares you … Brilliantly and satisfyingly off-key and absurd, with a vein of tragedy running through it, it’s the art college campus novel I’ve always wanted. Grace is such an astute observer of people (especially artists) and a sharp, bright and hilarious writer. I can’t wait to see what she goes on to write next. She’s one of those writers who you can devote yourself to. I’m along for the ride of her whole career’
Slick with spite, desire and intrigue, this is an exceptional debut. Charlotte is audacious and addictive. You'll race through it, breath held, skin prickling
One of the best debuts I’ve read this year ... I read the whole thing in one sitting, so enmeshed in Charlotte’s life and lies that I simply couldn’t leave her. A character eliciting the level of frustration and sympathy that Charlotte does in a reader is a mark of truly impressive writing. The middle act, set in Italy, floored me. Murray’s writing moves between a New York campus, a terraced house in Lichfield and a workaway trip in Italy with the ease of a writer unencumbered – each setting, each relationship, and each conversation felt real, as if they were being recounted to the reader from memory. Grace Murray is a writer to watch
A campus novel painted with the most startling, profound hues. A portrait of queer love, loneliness and dark lies, Blank Canvas has a sharp, striking wit that cuts at the heart of what it means to be human ... An absolute triumph of a novel
The sharpest, meanest of prose in the best possible way. An outstanding debut from author to watch
Blank Canvas is a perceptive, witty and subversive exploration of honesty, relationships and identity. Grace Murray writes with such clarity and boldness achieving a refreshing, nuanced take on the campus novel
I loved this brilliant debut, compelled by the spiky interiority of Charlotte, and her minute, cold observations of the world she disdains yet longs to join. This novel is astute and absorbing, whether in upstate New York, a riverbank in Italy, or Lichfield, at all times asking and answering the question: how far would you go to stop being lonely? Comic and acerbic, with moments of real warmth and sorrow, we are drawn into Charlotte's warped, misanthropic worldview and the tentative relationships she forms, and are eager to stay. I was enthralled; Grace Murray is one to watch
