Bonding

a darkly addictive novel about love in the digital age, for fans of Cleopatra and Frankenstein

By: Mariel Franklin

Narrated by: Ellie Kendrick

'I absolutely loved it. Anyone interested in the relationship between tech, our bodies and our minds should bump it to the top of their queue immediately' - Zadie Smith, author of The Fraud

'This bold and highly impressive debut novel has its thumb right over the sore spots of modern life' - Guardian

Mary is single, jobless, and on her way to Ibiza.

There, at a party, she meets Tom, a brilliant chemist on the verge of launching a new drug that claims to cure the anxieties of modern life.

Back in London after a heady trip, Mary begins going out with Tom and working for her sort-of-ex Lara, who has created innovative dating app designed to revolutionize the industry. As tech and pharma collide, she is forced to question what love and success mean in a world that is hurtling out of control.

'Audacious, hot, deeply uncomfortable and genuinely thrilling' - Saba Sams, author of Send Nudes

Critic reviews

<b>I absolutely loved it.</b> Anyone interested in the relationship between tech, our bodies and our minds should bump it to the top of their queue immediately (Zadie Smith, author of The Fraud)

<b>As relishable as it is terrifying,<i> Bonding </i>is an audacious, hot, deeply uncomfortable and genuinely thrilling deep-dive into the dystopian future in which we now live</b> (Saba Sams, author of Send Nudes)

<b>So obviously impressive . . . </b>With its dissident intelligence and its comprehensive vision of a devastated social sphere, Mariel Franklin&rsquo;s <b><i>Bonding</i> is the work of an author whose importance already feels assured</b>

<b>This smart, disturbing debut reads like a 19th-century novel of manners for the digital age</b> . . . Franklin has written one of the most stimulating novels I have read

<b>A fast, harsh, smart and fun satire of contemporary tech elites.</b> (Guardian)

<b>Franklin&rsquo;s agile, thought-provoking tale throbs with ideas, fears and cautions.</b>

<b>Somewhere between Big Pharma-topia and dating app start-ups is <i>Bonding</i>&rsquo;s biggest surprise &ndash; and it&rsquo;s heart-shaped. Part love story, part love-mare, <i>Bonding</i> asks big, bold questions about the future of human relations and relationships</b> (Sarah May, author of Becky)

<b>Franklin arranges her vision of the contemporary moment in a way that makes the reader see our predicament anew. She is a seer and this novel of ideas is funny, sexy and surprising.</b> (Luke Brown, author Theft)

<b>Franklin is a fearless writer. In <i>Bonding</i>, she has written a novel that is somehow both timely and timeless.</b> (Keiran Goddard, author of I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning)

With dazzling imagination, <b>Franklin fashions cutting-edge concepts, then uses them to pry open the human heart</b> and interrogate the eternal questions therein. Chilling but warm, eagle-eyed yet sweeping, <b><i>Bonding </i>is a fascinating, ambitious tale for our modern age.</b> (Andrew Lipstein, author of The Vegan)

A novel I couldn't stop reading. A stunning, sharp description of modern life and it's interplay with social media.

I cannot wait for more books by Mariel Franklin. This novel was very well written. Each of the characters feels very real. The protagonist is a lovable young woman, struggling to find and keep a job in London, and living in a miserable apartment with a flatmate. One immediately feels connected to her, and the beautiful bonding and love she develops with Tom. The story is beautiful in itself, but also allows the characters to expose a non-judgemental, honest description of modern city life, social media's effects, alcohol, the dilemmas of intimacy, drugs, sex, consent, elitism, public schools in modern Britain and their changing demographics, the gap forming with pre-internet generations and inter-racial anger.

I remember the first time I read Sartre's Intimacy. This book reminded me very much of it, but better, because it is so connected to modern life, and addresses more issues than intimacy.

Narration was excellent too.
Mariel, please write on! I cannot wait, you're brilliant.