In a deeply compelling debut novel, Lee Rourke, the underground literary sensation and author of Everyday, tells the tale of a man who finds his life so boring it actually frightens him. So, in response, the man leaves his job and takes time out to sit on a park bench next to a canal in a quiet corner of London. But his tranquillity is disturbed by a jittery woman who comes to sit by his side every day. Although she won’t even tell him her name, she slowly begins to tell him a chilling story about a terrible act she committed and now the man finds himself more scared than ever.

””Boredom is powerful…[it] should be embraced.” That sentiment which drives Lee Rourke’s thoughtful, occasionally disturbing and curiously affecting debut novel. While unreservedly a novel of discourse and digression, ‘The Canal’ also understands that tension and intrigue are just as important as literary devices. It’s this careful balance that makes for a refreshing, memorable and powerful novel and one that confirms Rourke as a writer of exceptional promise.” Stuart Evers, The Independent

”For a book about urban ennui it’s a hell of a page-turner.” GQ