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The Living Realm
Not yet published
Expected 8 Sep 26The Living Realm has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.
160 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication September 8, 2026
About the author
Jordan Tannahill
23 books134 followersJordan Tannahill is a Canadian novelist and playwright based in London.
His debut novel, Liminal, won France's 2021 Prix des Jeunes Libraires. His second novel, The Listeners, was a Canadian bestseller, and was shortlisted for the 2021 Giller Prize.
Tannahill is the author of several plays, and the book of essays, Theatre of the Unimpressed.
In 2019, CBC Arts named Tannahill as one of sixty-nine LGBTQ Canadians, living or deceased, who has shaped the country's history.
His debut novel, Liminal, won France's 2021 Prix des Jeunes Libraires. His second novel, The Listeners, was a Canadian bestseller, and was shortlisted for the 2021 Giller Prize.
Tannahill is the author of several plays, and the book of essays, Theatre of the Unimpressed.
In 2019, CBC Arts named Tannahill as one of sixty-nine LGBTQ Canadians, living or deceased, who has shaped the country's history.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Although this is the author's third novel, most will know him, as I do, as a ferociously talented playwright, most recently of the controversial and award-winning Prince Faggot, which I also loved. None of his previous works quite prepared me, however, for this stunning short work that manages to cover such a multitude of life's most essential subjects - time, love, death, connection, sex, nature, morality, art, responsibility, etc., etc. - and do so with unerringly precise prose and thoughtful nuance.
It's the type of book you want to buy multiple copies of and thrust it into the hands of everyone you know and scream: READ IT!! NOW!! Mine is not the only voice proclaiming this a masterpiece - it's also garnered effusive praise from the likes of Douglas Stuart, Tash Aw and Garth Greenwell.
Oddly, this book begins very similarly to the latest Philippe Besson book I just finished, The Summer Boy, with a man encountering an old lover from 30 years before who could not possibly exist - but then they go in completely different directions.
I also thought it had echoes of both Alain Giraudie's film Stranger by the Lake, and Andrew Haigh's All of us Strangers, while being completely unique and original. The last 10 pages, a phenomenal tour de force from the consciousness of a feral pig (!!), is some of the best writing I've encountered in a very long time.
There is no doubt in my mind that not only will this make my top 5 reads of 2026, but that I will come back and reread it (it only takes about 4 hours), once I've had more time to process and digest. AND will buy a hardcopy edition when it comes out in Sept. for my collection. I've already ordered copies of Tannahill's other two novels.
Many thanks to Netgalley and to FS&G for the ARC in exchange for this honest and enthusiastic review.
It's the type of book you want to buy multiple copies of and thrust it into the hands of everyone you know and scream: READ IT!! NOW!! Mine is not the only voice proclaiming this a masterpiece - it's also garnered effusive praise from the likes of Douglas Stuart, Tash Aw and Garth Greenwell.
Oddly, this book begins very similarly to the latest Philippe Besson book I just finished, The Summer Boy, with a man encountering an old lover from 30 years before who could not possibly exist - but then they go in completely different directions.
I also thought it had echoes of both Alain Giraudie's film Stranger by the Lake, and Andrew Haigh's All of us Strangers, while being completely unique and original. The last 10 pages, a phenomenal tour de force from the consciousness of a feral pig (!!), is some of the best writing I've encountered in a very long time.
There is no doubt in my mind that not only will this make my top 5 reads of 2026, but that I will come back and reread it (it only takes about 4 hours), once I've had more time to process and digest. AND will buy a hardcopy edition when it comes out in Sept. for my collection. I've already ordered copies of Tannahill's other two novels.
Many thanks to Netgalley and to FS&G for the ARC in exchange for this honest and enthusiastic review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A slight though potent novel, my favorite kind. Composed of crystal clear writing, The Living Realm is immediately compelling and sensual, full to the brim of equal parts beauty and melancholy.
Our protagonist spends a drought-stricken summer in Berlin's Grunewald forest. The lazy sun soaked days stretch out before him, full of swimming in the lake, sunbathing with his friends, and hitting the local cruising grove. But as the heat intensifies and the summer progresses, he begins seeing several of his former lovers (all now dead) in and around the wooded lake.
It feels glib to call this novel “beautiful” the way it feels flippant to call a parent’s death family “sad. The writing is atmospheric, evocative, and profound all at once. It feels too big for such a trivial adjective. While reading I felt I was in the Grunewald, I could smell the sunbaked forest and feel the cold spots of deep lake water. Paired with shimmering prose, the character work is also remarkably strong. By the end I came to care for these people who felt more like real acquaintances than like fictional creations. I tore through this book and immediately wished I could read it again for the first time, this is one of those novels.
The Living Realm is a love letter to human connection and to life in its countless forms. A book about how relationships, fragile and transitory though they seem, might also be the most powerful thing we have, how they can transcend space, time, even death. If you read one book this summer, read this one.
Our protagonist spends a drought-stricken summer in Berlin's Grunewald forest. The lazy sun soaked days stretch out before him, full of swimming in the lake, sunbathing with his friends, and hitting the local cruising grove. But as the heat intensifies and the summer progresses, he begins seeing several of his former lovers (all now dead) in and around the wooded lake.
It feels glib to call this novel “beautiful” the way it feels flippant to call a parent’s death family “sad. The writing is atmospheric, evocative, and profound all at once. It feels too big for such a trivial adjective. While reading I felt I was in the Grunewald, I could smell the sunbaked forest and feel the cold spots of deep lake water. Paired with shimmering prose, the character work is also remarkably strong. By the end I came to care for these people who felt more like real acquaintances than like fictional creations. I tore through this book and immediately wished I could read it again for the first time, this is one of those novels.
The Living Realm is a love letter to human connection and to life in its countless forms. A book about how relationships, fragile and transitory though they seem, might also be the most powerful thing we have, how they can transcend space, time, even death. If you read one book this summer, read this one.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews