Hot Milk

Shortlisted: The Man Booker Prize 2016
Published by Hamish Hamilton: 24 March 2016

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Deborah Levy explores the strange and monstrous nature of motherhood in this hypnotic tale of female sexuality and power

Two women arrive in a village on the Spanish coast. Rose is suffering from a strange illness and the doctors are mystified. Her daughter Sofia has brought her here to find a cure with the infamous and controversial Dr Gomez – a man of questionable methods and motives. Intoxicated by thick heat and the seductive people who move through it, both women begin to see their lives clearly for the first time in years.

Through the opposing figures of mother and daughter, Deborah Levy explores the strange and monstrous nature of womanhood. Dreamlike and utterly compulsive, Hot Milk is a delirious fairy tale of feminine potency, a story both modern and timeless.

Deborah Levy

Deborah Levy is the author of seven novels, and she has been shortlisted twice for the Goldsmiths Prize and three times for the Booker Prize

More about Deborah Levy

Read more on Hot Milk

Deborah Levy interview: ‘Film has its own language, and the novelist has her own language’

As the film adaptation of Hot Milk is released, Deborah Levy reflects on novels and films, fiction and non-fiction, stage and screen, and shares her reading, listening and watching recommendations

Reading guide: Hot Milk by Deborah Levy

Whether you’re new to Hot Milk or have read it and would like to explore it more deeply, here is our comprehensive guide, featuring insights from critics, our judges and the book’s author, as well as discussion points and suggestions for further reading.