The Lightning Tree (Unabridged)

When an idealistic dreamer and an ambitious intellectual forge a profound connection in 1980s Newcastle, their passionate romance is put to the test as their wildly diverging paths prove how easily life can get in the way of love

Ursula is part dreamer, part radical in the making. Raised in a matriarchal household by a CND-loving activist, she is impatient to begin a life of adventure. But this is Newcastle in the mid-80s where girls are getting permed and their dreams go no further than copping off down the Bigg Market.

Then Ursula meets Jerry, a class warrior from the wrong side of town, intellectually hungry, erudite and ambitious. It is a meeting of bodies, souls, minds and ideals. Keen to pursue the road less travelled, Ursula heads to India while Jerry goes to Oxford and the promise of politics and power. As Ursula searches for answers, she is soon drifting, and Jerry loses touch.

What happens to young love when it is tested by real life? The Lightning Tree is a lyrical and funny novel for fans of The Line of Beauty and The Marriage Plot.

'Woof finds humour and poignancy in the gulf between how things are and how they ought to be' The Observer

'[A] comical, self-aware novel...Woof is a storyteller and you can tell this from the first few pages. The Lightning Tree doesn't commit to being a comic novel, a narratively adventurous or a wildly philosophical one, but takes the best aspects of each and plaits them into this clever and touching story' The Times

'Woof's lyrical storytelling moves effectively through time and place, interweaving Ursula and Jerry's futures as well as what came before them ... the result is transcendent. What unfolds is a story not just of young love but of how to cope when it is lost and shattered' Financial Times

'[An] indubitable talent' The Guardian

'The sheer brilliance of Woof's prose pulls you into the story ... [T]he vigour and humour of The Lightning Tree make it a winner' Stylist

'An unusual but convincing love story that charts the often-distant lives of her two distinctive and appealing characters, written with wit and a lyrical flourish' Daily Mail

'A poignant love fable that rings loud with the recognition of truth' Grazia

'Woof writes with exuberant skill about the mess of metaphysics, dreams and history that can make people strangers to each other, and the inexorable life forces that can bring them back together' Metro

'The Lightning Tree is a more ambitious book than One Day, moving away from the relationship much of the time to focus on themes of class, family and religion. There are undertones of Jeffrey Eugenides's The Marriage Plot, which also sees its college-age protagonists wade through issues of love and spirituality while looking for answers' The Irish Times

'A love story at its heart, it also explores the many strange ways in which our lives branch out and intersect. Even more daringly, it captures those rare moments of transcendence that elude not just words but understanding, yet still have the power to shape a life. As such, Emily Woof could easily have fallen foul of feyness or whimsy, but in fact, as her time-lapse narrative spools out, there is not a page of this sympathetic novel that isn't illuminated by her verve and wit' The Lady