Lifting : a novel

Amy is a store detective at Cutty's, the oldest and grandest department store in the country. She's good at her job. She can read people and catch them. But Cutty's is closing down. Amy has a young baby, an ailing mother, and a large mortgage. She also has a past as an activist.This compelling novel opens in a police interview room, with Amy narrating the weeks leading up to the chaotic close of Cutty's, a time when the store moves from permanent feature to ruin and when people under stress do strange things. An intense exploration of the moment when the solid ground of a life is taken away, this swiftly told novel shows again how unerringly and vividly Damien Wilkins traces the stress fractures of contemporary living. Amy Is A Store Detective At Cutty's, The Oldest And Grandest Department Store In The Country. She's Good At Her Job. She Can Read People And Catch Them. But Cutty's Is Closing Down. Amy Has A Young Baby, An Ailing Mother And A Large Mortgage. She Also Has A Past As An Activist. Lifting Opens In A Police Interview Room, With Amy Narrating The Weeks Leading Up To The Chaotic Close Of Cutty's, A Time When The Store Moves From Permanent Feature To Ruin And When People Under Stress Do Strange Things. An Intense Exploration Of The Moment When The Solid Ground Of A Life Is Taken Away, This Compelling, Swiftly Told Novel Shows How Unerringly And Vividly Damien Wilkins Traces The Stress Fractures Of Contemporary Lives--back Cover. Damien Wilkins. Novel. Amy is a store detective at Cuttys, the oldest and grandest department store in the country. Shes good at her job. She can read people and catch them. But Cuttys is closing down. Amy has a young baby, an ailing mother, and a large mortgage. She also has a past as an activist. This compelling novel opens in a police interview room, with Amy narrating the weeks leading up to the chaotic close of Cuttys, a time when the store moves from permanent feature to ruin and when people under stress do strange things. An intense exploration of the moment when the solid ground of a life is taken away, this swiftly told novel shows again how unerringly and vividly Damien Wilkins traces the stress fractures of contemporary living. It's 1939. Two children watch as their parents become immersed in the puzzling mechanisms of power. Sieglinde lives in the affluent ignorance of middle-class Berlin, her father a censor who cuts prohibited words such as love and mercy out of books. Erich is an only child living a rural life near Leipzig, tending beehives, aware that he is shadowed by strange, unanswered questions. Drawn together as Germany's hope for a glorious future begins to collapse, the children find temporary refuge in an abandoned theatre amidst the rubble of Berlin. Outside, white bedsheets hang from windows; all over the city people are talking of surrender. The days Sieglinde and Erich spend together will shape the rest of their lives