This is a powerful and truthful story about hope and how to find it' * THE TIMES*

This is a powerful and truthful story about hope and how to find it' * THE TIMES*

'Wry, beautifully written. . .it works on many levels' DAILY MAIL**

'Bray's satire shines with observation and subtlety' GUARDIAN**

'She writes with a quiet formidable brilliance. Her observations on relationships are acute, painful and extremely funny. This is a gem of a book.' EMILY MAIT

** Global temperatures are rising.**

** The climate of the Abrams' marriage is cooling.**Emma is beginning to wonder whether relationships, like mortgages, should be conducted in five-year increments. She might laugh if Chris had bought a motorbike or started dyeing his hair. Instead he's buying off-label medicines and stockpiling food.

Chris finds Emma's relentless optimism exasperating. A tot of dread, a nip of horror, a shot of anger - he isn't asking much. If she would only join him in a measure of* something *.

The family's precarious eco-system is further disrupted by torrential rains, power cuts and the unexpected arrival of Chris's mother. Emma longs to lower a rope and winch Chris from the pit of his worries. But he doesn't want to be rescued or reassured - he wants to pull her in after him.

Darkly funny and beautifully written, When the Lights Go Out is a novel for our times: a story about cultivating hope and weathering change.