No Such Thing as Monday | from the Booker Prize-Longlisted Author of Pearl
16 April 2026Synopsis
FROM BOOKER PRIZE-LONGLISTED AUTHOR SIAN HUGHES COMES A FIERCE, TENDER AND UNEXPECTEDLY FUNNY NOVEL ABOUT MEMORY, GUILT, AND REINVENTION.
‘Imagine someone suddenly starts saying Tuesday comes straight after Sunday. You learn not to mention Monday. Monday is not a thing in your house. At school you might write Monday on your page, but you’d never make that mistake at home.’
Steffie spends her days working in a dry-cleaner’s, trying to scrub the world clean one garment at a time. But no matter how spotless the clothes, she can’t rid herself of the guilt and grime she feels inside. Haunted by what happened to her sister when they were children, large fragments of which she can’t fully remember, Steffie is stuck in a loop of self-destruction, defiance, and shame.
When her violent, bullying father dies suddenly, it sparks a reckoning that cracks open her past. What follows is an unexpectedly redemptive journey of a woman trying to piece herself together in a world that failed to make space for her.
Raw, exhilarating, funny and full of heart, No Such Thing as Monday confirms Sian Hughes as a masterful chronicler of life lived on the edge, and people at their most vulnerable.
Details
16 April 2026
9789361131691Reviews
‘A stunningly frank and darkly funny novel of loneliness and resilience. I loved it.’ Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
‘In Steffie, Siân Hughes has created one of the most powerful, highly original and hilarious voices in fiction. What she suffers is almost unbearable and yet her resilience knocks the stuffing out of it. It’s deftly woven, the writing is delicious, and it hit my heart like a hammer blow.’ Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
‘Richly absorbing and powerful – Steffie has a unique voice that keeps you glued to her story, and that I absolutely loved.’ Kate Hamer, author of The Girl in the Red Coat
‘I was blindsided by the brilliance of this novel.’ Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and Bliss
‘One of the most unforgettable voices you will read this year narrates No Such Thing as Monday. Raw, honest, unflinching and shot through with dark humour...’ Booklist
