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How to Leave the House
It's Natwest's last day before he leaves for university, and there's only one thing on his the deeply embarrassing package he ordered to his house - which still hasn't arrived. He won't leave town without it. Any alternative is too distressing to consider ...
This is the story of twenty-four hours in the life of Natwest, and his small-town odyssey in pursuit of the missing package. And yet it's also the story of a middle-aged dentist who dreams of being a respected artist - but the only thing he can seem to paint is the human mouth. And it's the story of a tortured imam involved in a quasi-romantic entanglement with the local vicar; and an octogenerian mourning the death of her secretive husband; and a troubled teenager whose nudes have leaked on the internet. It's the story of Natwest's obnoxious ex-boyfriend, and his class-traitor mother and her childhood boyfriend, and the life-changing secrets he knows about Natwest's past.
Alternating between Natwest's idiosyncratic inner world and the perspectives of the other characters - and dazzling in its energy, imagination and originality - this is an outrageously funny and tenderly moving story about being connected to everyone and everything at all times; about love, friendship, and the lies we tell ourselves; about unhappy endings, happy endings - and whether anything really is as simple as one or the other.
This is the story of twenty-four hours in the life of Natwest, and his small-town odyssey in pursuit of the missing package. And yet it's also the story of a middle-aged dentist who dreams of being a respected artist - but the only thing he can seem to paint is the human mouth. And it's the story of a tortured imam involved in a quasi-romantic entanglement with the local vicar; and an octogenerian mourning the death of her secretive husband; and a troubled teenager whose nudes have leaked on the internet. It's the story of Natwest's obnoxious ex-boyfriend, and his class-traitor mother and her childhood boyfriend, and the life-changing secrets he knows about Natwest's past.
Alternating between Natwest's idiosyncratic inner world and the perspectives of the other characters - and dazzling in its energy, imagination and originality - this is an outrageously funny and tenderly moving story about being connected to everyone and everything at all times; about love, friendship, and the lies we tell ourselves; about unhappy endings, happy endings - and whether anything really is as simple as one or the other.
315 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 13, 2024
249 people are currently reading
9545 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 264 reviews
December 10, 2023
An impressive twenty-four-hour fiction. Reading this feels like being in a loop of reincarnation, always becoming someone connected to someone, ultimately escaping into an eternity of empathy—and the journey is hilarious, even though aberrational.rtc.
July 4, 2024
Varying the perspectives each chapter made this a really quick read, BUT:
-this was not funny despite every review saying otherwise
-read the whole book and didn't understand the relevance of the title
-having both endings felt weird and not in a good way; ambiguous ending done wrong
-talk of his penis 4 pages in should have been a red flag warning
-this was not funny despite every review saying otherwise
-read the whole book and didn't understand the relevance of the title
-having both endings felt weird and not in a good way; ambiguous ending done wrong
-talk of his penis 4 pages in should have been a red flag warning
December 9, 2023
Put simply, this book is fantastic. A refreshingly quirky read about a day in the life of ‘our hero’ Natwest.
I loved the writing, the humour, and the darkly uncomfortable-at-times nature of the supporting characters which we meet along the way, especially Miss Pandey.
Some properly laugh out loud moments, Highly recommend!
I loved the writing, the humour, and the darkly uncomfortable-at-times nature of the supporting characters which we meet along the way, especially Miss Pandey.
Some properly laugh out loud moments, Highly recommend!
August 1, 2024
4.5. This book was just 9 inches from being 5 stars.
August 14, 2024
Super disappointed. I’ve had this book on my to-read list all year after reading an article in January of the “most anticipated books of 2024”I did not like it at all.
August 15, 2024
DNFed. Didn’t like the writing. The characters are quite robotic.
April 18, 2024
3.5⭐️
thank you to the publishers for sending me copy of this book to review!
what stood out to me about how to leave the house was it’s humour, wit, and originality. the story flows well and it’s easy to sit down and devour. i enjoyed reading it although there is a lot happening and lots of different characters, which did sometimes confuse me, but it’s interesting to see how they all connect and the stories intertwine. one thing i will say though, is that this book feels very millennial/gen z. that’s because of the language/terms and subject matter, and i know that for some people that could get irritating. but overall, i found this book to be an enjoyable, fun, and wild novel exploring friendships, relationships, and the connections we make in life.
thank you to the publishers for sending me copy of this book to review!
what stood out to me about how to leave the house was it’s humour, wit, and originality. the story flows well and it’s easy to sit down and devour. i enjoyed reading it although there is a lot happening and lots of different characters, which did sometimes confuse me, but it’s interesting to see how they all connect and the stories intertwine. one thing i will say though, is that this book feels very millennial/gen z. that’s because of the language/terms and subject matter, and i know that for some people that could get irritating. but overall, i found this book to be an enjoyable, fun, and wild novel exploring friendships, relationships, and the connections we make in life.
October 31, 2024
Genuinely one of my least favorite books I’ve ever read. The protagonist is deeply unlikable. The plot is painfully boring. And the text clearly thinks it does a whole lot more than it actually manages to accomplish. Salacious, at times disgusting, graphic depictions of Natwest’s sexual forays added no value to the plot. My impression is that the author thinks to be outrageous is to be provocative, but that’s not always the case. This is just crudeness for the sake of it.
May 7, 2025
TLDR: If you think the word dildo is funny, you’ll have a blast. I’m not 12 so I hated it.
This is proof the publishing world is overdoing it and they’re getting too many books out.
This is supposed to be a comedy about a guy named Natwest (gender: Natwest, pronouns: Natwest/Natwest) who uses his mom’s dildo. The plot follows Natwest quest as he attempts to find a misdelivered package (a dildo). The narration has Natwest as the main character but also focuses on some other characters he encounters, which showcases a lot of diversity. This being said, the “comedy” of it made it feel like the book was making fun of transgender women, people who had followed Islam and had abandoned their faith, MLM victims, people on the spectrum, migrants, cancer survivors, etc. I think the book was trying to be fun and quirky, but it came off as trying way too hard and mocking the communities it represented. Overall, I found it immature and borderline insulting? 🤷♀️
The “ending” has an interesting thing going on that I had never seen before in a book. I didn’t care for it but I felt I should mention it. Pity the book was so bad I couldn’t appreciate it, I guess.
(I read this because of a challenge 🤪)
This is proof the publishing world is overdoing it and they’re getting too many books out.
This is supposed to be a comedy about a guy named Natwest (gender: Natwest, pronouns: Natwest/Natwest) who uses his mom’s dildo. The plot follows Natwest quest as he attempts to find a misdelivered package (a dildo). The narration has Natwest as the main character but also focuses on some other characters he encounters, which showcases a lot of diversity. This being said, the “comedy” of it made it feel like the book was making fun of transgender women, people who had followed Islam and had abandoned their faith, MLM victims, people on the spectrum, migrants, cancer survivors, etc. I think the book was trying to be fun and quirky, but it came off as trying way too hard and mocking the communities it represented. Overall, I found it immature and borderline insulting? 🤷♀️
The “ending” has an interesting thing going on that I had never seen before in a book. I didn’t care for it but I felt I should mention it. Pity the book was so bad I couldn’t appreciate it, I guess.
(I read this because of a challenge 🤪)
August 23, 2024
Fun, quirky book that felt like a sitcom comedy sketch viewed from all angles
May 7, 2024
I didn’t really enjoy this at all. I can see other reviews saying calling it a 24-hour read and I don’t know if they are referring to the plot or time it took to read but either way it took me ages to get through.
A lot of skipping and skim reading. Some strange language used and there were a few questionable symbols towards the end which, if I were reading in public would probably get me arrested….
Not my cup of tea, wouldn’t pick up again unfortunately :/
A lot of skipping and skim reading. Some strange language used and there were a few questionable symbols towards the end which, if I were reading in public would probably get me arrested….
Not my cup of tea, wouldn’t pick up again unfortunately :/
August 23, 2024
If you like the Netflix show Sex Education, this book is for you.
July 22, 2025
never trust a book blurbed by both ben elton and stephen fry
September 5, 2024
Another DNF. The writing and humor were both not my style at all. It was crude without being clever and just boring and unfunny.
I can’t remember why I added this to my list but I suspect it was The NY Times again as none of my friends have read this. I have to stop trusting them.
I can’t remember why I added this to my list but I suspect it was The NY Times again as none of my friends have read this. I have to stop trusting them.
December 16, 2024
I don't really understand what this was about. The characters were flat and the plot was nonexistent.
May 2, 2024
Original, offbeat off-to-Uni story - for a whole town!
I've not read anything quite like this before. Neither the way it's written nor the characters were at all typical. Which for me is a huge bonus. A post-adolescent about to leave for university, Natwest is our protagonist, our first-person storyteller, questing after a missing package that it's vital he finds today before he leaves.
Natwest himself is a tangle of quirks and traits: "he was an intellectual. His mind operated at the highest efficiency. His discernment was unparalleled." Aside from his self-given name, he doesn't make himself easy to like, this young man.
I had a sense of 'A Confederacy of Dunces' reading this, with Natwest's self-importance and the humour pervading.
I loved that we saw snippets of other people around Natwest's small-town home as he progresses about his day, from his mother planning for his departure (and getting in touch with her past) to a grumpy neighbour, an iman, a former teacher, a teenage girl with her own sideplot and issues, and the dentist whose art exhibition the end of Natwest's and everyone else's day is rotating slowly around and towards.
It's an eclectic collection of characters all on the periphery of Natwest's 'main character syndrome' life, each of whom could have their own story.
There are some standout moments, I loved the scene between Natwest and his former teacher debating the merits or otherwise of a particularly garish nail salon sign (which now makes the front cover make sense!), a love scene between an iman and an old black-and-white film and the strange two-parter parallel conclusion.
Unnerving, clever, immersive collage of a story that took me by surprise.
With thank to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
I've not read anything quite like this before. Neither the way it's written nor the characters were at all typical. Which for me is a huge bonus. A post-adolescent about to leave for university, Natwest is our protagonist, our first-person storyteller, questing after a missing package that it's vital he finds today before he leaves.
Natwest himself is a tangle of quirks and traits: "he was an intellectual. His mind operated at the highest efficiency. His discernment was unparalleled." Aside from his self-given name, he doesn't make himself easy to like, this young man.
I had a sense of 'A Confederacy of Dunces' reading this, with Natwest's self-importance and the humour pervading.
I loved that we saw snippets of other people around Natwest's small-town home as he progresses about his day, from his mother planning for his departure (and getting in touch with her past) to a grumpy neighbour, an iman, a former teacher, a teenage girl with her own sideplot and issues, and the dentist whose art exhibition the end of Natwest's and everyone else's day is rotating slowly around and towards.
It's an eclectic collection of characters all on the periphery of Natwest's 'main character syndrome' life, each of whom could have their own story.
There are some standout moments, I loved the scene between Natwest and his former teacher debating the merits or otherwise of a particularly garish nail salon sign (which now makes the front cover make sense!), a love scene between an iman and an old black-and-white film and the strange two-parter parallel conclusion.
Unnerving, clever, immersive collage of a story that took me by surprise.
With thank to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
August 3, 2024
How to Leave the House by Nathan Newman. Thanks to @vikingbooks for the gifted copy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Natwest is finally leaving his small town, but first he needs to find his missing package before anyone else opens it. This is his story and the story of other town members.
As this book takes place in a single day, I also read it in a single day. The chapters are short and the story flies by. You get to really love the main character as he adventures through a small town in search of his missing package. The perspectives change but it doesn’t feel like short stories as each person ties into Natwest’s quest. It’s hilarious at times and also heartbreaking as we learn of Natwest, his past, and his new adult angst of being queer in a small town.
“… having children is exactly like a Ponzi scheme. You invest everything you have, and it all comes crashing down in the end when they leave you. But in the moment none of that matters - because at its height, the world is in your hands.”
How to Leave the House comes out 8/20.
Natwest is finally leaving his small town, but first he needs to find his missing package before anyone else opens it. This is his story and the story of other town members.
As this book takes place in a single day, I also read it in a single day. The chapters are short and the story flies by. You get to really love the main character as he adventures through a small town in search of his missing package. The perspectives change but it doesn’t feel like short stories as each person ties into Natwest’s quest. It’s hilarious at times and also heartbreaking as we learn of Natwest, his past, and his new adult angst of being queer in a small town.
“… having children is exactly like a Ponzi scheme. You invest everything you have, and it all comes crashing down in the end when they leave you. But in the moment none of that matters - because at its height, the world is in your hands.”
How to Leave the House comes out 8/20.
July 21, 2025
Delightfully creative though sometimes deeply uncomfortable, made me think of Tao from heart stopper if he were dropped into the tv show sex education. Alternating perspectives were a very interesting glimpse into a wide range of interesting characters, though the obsessive references to other art and media often went over my head
August 25, 2024
I selected this book off the library New Release shelf for the title alone and stayed for the joy of reading it. It’s a circadian novel - that’s a book set in under 24 hours!
I loved this quote that summarized being a mother so perfectly I want to remember it forever
“This was her son. The evidence of her success. Her future. He had sucked his thumb until he was ten. Gave up sleeping in her bed when he was eleven. Collapsed in her arms when he didn’t make it to university (and she’d been so grateful, in that moment: that he didn’t have to leave her). He came out to through her belly. Almost killed her. Make sure there would never be another to follow him. He was her son. Her only chance at a second life. How can you love someone so completely that the very thought of them makes you desperately sad and deliriously happy, all at once? That was the read contradiction, and nothing compared. She certainly didn’t need a dog to replace him. And she didn’t need Clive either. Who needed anything of that sort when she had a son who’d come when she had called? Who’d returned to her one last time? And just then a funny thought popped into her head; having children is exactly like a Ponzi scheme. You invest everything you have, and it all comes crashing down in the end when they leave you. But in the moment, none of that matters- because at its height, the world is in your hands.”
4.5 stars
🦷🦷🖼️🖼️📦📦📦📦📦
I loved this quote that summarized being a mother so perfectly I want to remember it forever
“This was her son. The evidence of her success. Her future. He had sucked his thumb until he was ten. Gave up sleeping in her bed when he was eleven. Collapsed in her arms when he didn’t make it to university (and she’d been so grateful, in that moment: that he didn’t have to leave her). He came out to through her belly. Almost killed her. Make sure there would never be another to follow him. He was her son. Her only chance at a second life. How can you love someone so completely that the very thought of them makes you desperately sad and deliriously happy, all at once? That was the read contradiction, and nothing compared. She certainly didn’t need a dog to replace him. And she didn’t need Clive either. Who needed anything of that sort when she had a son who’d come when she had called? Who’d returned to her one last time? And just then a funny thought popped into her head; having children is exactly like a Ponzi scheme. You invest everything you have, and it all comes crashing down in the end when they leave you. But in the moment, none of that matters- because at its height, the world is in your hands.”
4.5 stars
🦷🦷🖼️🖼️📦📦📦📦📦
April 6, 2024
Rooting for egg fights to become common practice in debut novels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2024
Well, this was....something. The concept of this novel sounded really fun: a secret package being delivered to a guy on the last day he's at home before he leaves for university not showing up and sending said guy on a hunt for this mysterious package where he encounters the eccentric townsfolk along his journey. This was the main plot device for the novel, but this wasn't a very engaging story. The characters were certainly diverse and had a myriad of different problems, but none of them were particularly interesting or memorable. Worst of all, the main character was a self-absorbed prick and I couldn't rally behind him at all.
This novel was also VERY sexual, with more references to penises than any other novel I've read before, to the point that it started to become very annoying/gross. This was WAY more of a sexually explicit novel than I thought it was going to be, with pretty much every chapter describing some sexual encounter, bodily fluid, or something. Not my cup of tea to be honest.
I'm not by any means giving this novel a bad review due to the sexual content of the novel, but I did want to mention it to others who may not realize how explicit this novel is (those like me). I am, however, giving this novel a poor review due to the lackluster story, unremarkable/unlikeable characters, and garbled nature of the story.
This novel was also VERY sexual, with more references to penises than any other novel I've read before, to the point that it started to become very annoying/gross. This was WAY more of a sexually explicit novel than I thought it was going to be, with pretty much every chapter describing some sexual encounter, bodily fluid, or something. Not my cup of tea to be honest.
I'm not by any means giving this novel a bad review due to the sexual content of the novel, but I did want to mention it to others who may not realize how explicit this novel is (those like me). I am, however, giving this novel a poor review due to the lackluster story, unremarkable/unlikeable characters, and garbled nature of the story.
August 28, 2024
1.5. The technical skill was there but the story-telling one... not so much. But, honestly, this is exactly the kind of book that rubs me wrong. There's no character growth, which I can only abide when I like the character to begin with (or they're at least funny about it) and I didn't (and he wasn't). At all (like, at all). Natwest was shitty to everyone in his life and unapologetic about it. I have no problem with shitty humans but there has to be some sense of humanity to them, even if it's just a connection to another person who can stand them - House has Wilson, David has John and Amy, even the Always Sunny gang can somehow put up with each other. There's also this sense in those relationships that this person has agreed to the terms and conditions of a friendship/more with this individual and none of the people Natwest engages with - particularly his mom and Georgie - are given that grace. Instead this dick of a dude just smashes into them because he feels like it and doesn't care if he causes any crumbling. It's hard to want to read about someone like that, y'know?
Also, the dual endings really did not work for me.
Also, the dual endings really did not work for me.
June 20, 2024
I really don’t know how I felt about this. I loved the 24 hour narrative, the interwoven characters and fast storytelling. I didn’t like NatWest, our central hero, mostly because he is somewhat of an obnoxious prick with a superiority complex? I know that’s the point, and the other characters added a level of empathy I needed but still. He did have some growth, though, and the two endings were cyclically satisfying. So I think that’s a 3.5/4 stars?
August 27, 2024
If you like Yorgos Lanthimos movies, I think you’ll enjoy this book. More specifically, this book reminded me of Kinds of Kindness. There are multiple stories of background characters that all come together at the end to orbit around the main character.
The story was so witty and clever that I couldn’t help but have fun while reading this book. However, it’s very nihilistic and I don’t have any takeaways.
The story was so witty and clever that I couldn’t help but have fun while reading this book. However, it’s very nihilistic and I don’t have any takeaways.
July 27, 2024
3.75 not as funny as it was made out to be but pretty humorous, well written and original
December 14, 2024
Pretty funny, but I didn't understand the end.
April 29, 2024
Thank you to Lucy from Little Brown for sending me a copy of How to Leave the House by Nathan Newman
I must admit I did not gel with this book at all. No I tell a lie I could not gel with the MC, NatWest. The other characters were fine.
How to Leave the House takes place during the course of a day where our MC is desperately running around town trying to retrieve a very sensitive package that was delivered to the wrong person.
Over the course of the day/book we see NatWest interact with the townspeople, people he knows etc and we not only get a sense of NatWests life etc we get to know the people of the town.
I enjoyed the premise of the book but I just found it not to my tastes. I find the MC to be extremely selfish and I can’t gel with people like that. It rubbed throughout the entire course of his POV and I just wasn’t into it. I did, however,love Ms Pandey’s character, she was a hoot. This kind of writing style is something I do enjoy though. Sequence stories or nested stories I think it’s called.
The ending had me a little confused too.
That being said, just because this wasn’t my cup of tea, doesn’t mean it won’t be yours. So I do recommend to read it and I hope you enjoy it more than I did.
I must admit I did not gel with this book at all. No I tell a lie I could not gel with the MC, NatWest. The other characters were fine.
How to Leave the House takes place during the course of a day where our MC is desperately running around town trying to retrieve a very sensitive package that was delivered to the wrong person.
Over the course of the day/book we see NatWest interact with the townspeople, people he knows etc and we not only get a sense of NatWests life etc we get to know the people of the town.
I enjoyed the premise of the book but I just found it not to my tastes. I find the MC to be extremely selfish and I can’t gel with people like that. It rubbed throughout the entire course of his POV and I just wasn’t into it. I did, however,love Ms Pandey’s character, she was a hoot. This kind of writing style is something I do enjoy though. Sequence stories or nested stories I think it’s called.
The ending had me a little confused too.
That being said, just because this wasn’t my cup of tea, doesn’t mean it won’t be yours. So I do recommend to read it and I hope you enjoy it more than I did.
November 7, 2025
So, it seems like the point is a juxtaposition of the idea that everyone feels like the main character in their story against a carousel of points-of-view from townspeople suggesting you are not. This narrative appeared to struggle with the vibe it was trying to achieve — it aims to be charming yet crass; it shoots for poignant but misses. While a variety of dramatic life experiences are discussed, they felt two-dimensional and contrived. Lily’s chapter, particularly, was insufferable (though maybe a small portion of that is because the format did not translate well to an audiobook). And, while I can understand a motif, sometimes I felt like I was being lectured on art history. Critiques aside, there *is* a good message in this book — a reminder that everyone is going through something of which you are not aware.
August 20, 2025
This books has a large ensemble cast, mainly made up of Boomers wishing their lives turned out differently, Gen Z kids using sex as a form of self-numbing or punishment, and a few Gen X characters that were the least depressing. I feel the worst about how Gen Z is represented in this book, I just had a ton of Gen Z interns this summer and not a single one of them was this vapid or self-absorbed 🫠
Be warned: A lot of explicit sexual content that is very descriptive in a purposefully unappealing way.
I feel like this could have been a 1 hr special on the BBC if it had a little more humor inserted to break up the drudgery.
Be warned: A lot of explicit sexual content that is very descriptive in a purposefully unappealing way.
I feel like this could have been a 1 hr special on the BBC if it had a little more humor inserted to break up the drudgery.
March 21, 2025
Maybe it’s just me, but the jacket on this book is claiming this journey is “hilarious “and I for one did not even crack a smile. I found it dark and uncomfortable and gratuitously raunchy.
I do think the writer has a lot of strength, but this story just did not do it for me. I finished it, which says at least it was entertaining enough to get to the end, but I don’t think I would recommend this to anybody.
I do think the writer has a lot of strength, but this story just did not do it for me. I finished it, which says at least it was entertaining enough to get to the end, but I don’t think I would recommend this to anybody.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 264 reviews