The Outcast

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }} Send as a gift

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

WINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION


The bestselling novel from the author of The Snakes, The Outcast is a powerful portrait of unexpected love and treacherous charades against the backdrop of a sleepy post-war English village

August 1957. Lewis Aldridge, straight out of jail, stands alone at a Surrey railway station.

He's returned to the village where he grew up: the village where, a decade earlier, tragedy tore his family apart, leaving him to a troubled adolescence without a mother and with a father he barely knew.

Now, the only person who understands him is Kit, daughter of a bullying local businessman. Soon they realise that to forge their own futures, they must first confront the darkest secrets of their past.

As family, love, passion, sex and violence become ever more so intertwined, can Kit and Lewis find their way back to each other amidst the chaos?

'If you liked Atonement by Ian McEwan, you'll love this' Harper's Bazaar

'A tragic account of the devastating effects of parental abuse and the redemptive power of true love' Guardian

'In the tradition of
Remains of the Day...a passionate and deeply suspenseful novel' Margot Livesey

© Sadie Jones 2008 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Critics Review

An elegant, subtle, haunting novel that stayed with me long after I finished it. Sadie Jones has a long literary future ahead of her

Tracy Chevalier

The prose is elegant and spare, but the story it reveals is raw and explosive… Devastatingly good’

Daily Mail

Jones’s story is imbued with brooding atmosphere and drama. Understated and elegantly narrated with attention to period detail, this is a gripping love story with a twist. If you liked Atonement by Ian McEwan, you’ll love this

Harper's Bazaar

Eminently readable first novel….reads like a thriller, the tension and menace build expertly…a powerful, promising first novel

Financial Times

She writes with simmering intensity… particularly strong on atmosphere… Jones uses small, startling phrases to convey depths of passion and information and she can make seemingly innocuous passages radiate beauty

Sunday Telegraph

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.