NEW FICTION

Blue Ticket ★★★★★

In Sophie Mackintosh’s second novel, a paper slip allocated in a compulsory lottery determines the fate of hundreds of girls every day. White means you will become a mother; a blue ticket deals you the illusion of freedom. Dare to muddy the waters and you will be banished like Calla, then hunted down. Illicitly pregnant she heads north for the border and safety. Told with ragged prose that catches the breath, Calla’s journey articulates the irrepressible desires and wounds deep within, and is marked by a relentless claustrophobia. This unsettling reimagining of the anxieties around motherhood lays bare the alienation that comes when your body is not truly yours.