A New York Times Editors’ Choice

‘A dark coming-of-age story set in Stockholm [with] a really light touch that makes it really beautiful’ – Natasha Brown, author of Assembly

‘A fresh, tender, and resonant bildungsroman from the wonderfully large-hearted Jenny Mustard’ – R. O. Kwon, author of Exhibit

‘Enchanting and piercing, a dance and a delight. Mustard's prose captures the effervescent and the luminescent, a joy to read and share’ – Bryan Washington, author of Family Meal

‘Mustard is a measured and gorgeous writer, in command of the senses in a way that makes the reader feel alive alongside the characters. But what a time to be alive... and to be a reader, when this writer is at work’ The New York Times Book Review

Twenty-one, friendless, without money but not without hope, Sickan's arrival at Stockholm University represents a new start. Her lonely childhood in a small southern town has left her utterly unprepared for intimacy: for friends, for sex, for love even. But Sickan is determined to build a new version of herself from the ground up, to make up for lost time. To simply be normal.

Just as Sickan seems to be finding her first ever friends, in whose company she finally feels safe, she meets Abbe: beautiful, charming - and by some miracle he wants her too. Unlike Sickan, Abbe seems completely at ease in his own skin. A solid foundation then, on which to build a relationship? Maybe?

What a Time to Be Alive is a story of class, sex, loneliness, and the trials of young womanhood. But above all, it's a story of firsts: the first party you're actually invited to, the first moment you fall in love, the first time you betray a friend. The first time you ask yourself, how much of myself am I willing to sacrifice, to finally fit in?

‘A beautifully written novel that avoids cliches and comes to a moving conclusion that left this reader wanting more’ – Irish Times

‘A beautifully plangent coming-of-age novel, What a Time to be Alive is written with an openness and a melancholy that frequently catches you off guard, and will go straight to your heart.’ – Lucy Caldwell, author of These Days

‘Playful and witty, a charming meditation on coming-of-age, privilege, and grief. With her sharp prose, Mustard conveys a vivid sense of longing’ – Cecile Pin, author of Wandering Souls

‘Fresh, sharp, graceful... the work of such an original writer. I loved it’ – Wendy Erskine, author of The Benefactors

‘Reminiscent of the power and grace of writers like Rachel Cusk and Raven Leilani. Tender and enigmatic’ – Molly Aitken, author of Bright I Burn

‘Subtle, fresh and authentic. A coming-of-age without pretensions’ – Caoilinn Hughes, author of The Alternatives

‘Jenny Mustard writes with honesty and wit about the strange, mundane, and wondrous aspects of youth’ – Ayşegül Savaş, author of The Anthropologists