The House with Only an Attic and a Basement

A neurotically funny collection that looks under the hood of adult life

As in life, she was a pain in the arse

in death. He could hear her roaring

all the way from the fifth circle,

'Why the hell do you get to be in a

better circle than me, I'm wrathful

because of your lust -'

Deploying a chorus of voices both ancient and modern to explore a world of sexual politics and singles cruises, dysfunctional families and psychoanalysis, awkward cohabitations and self-help guides for the would-be Dream Girl, this is the third collection from a unique poetic talent: observant, obsessive and wickedly witty.

'The funniest book I've read in years. Maris flexes her wit and wisdom to create a litany of nervous characters in a style that's mordant, sarcastic, satiric yet often compassionate . . . a poet of risk, she is dark, deep and often laugh out loud'

DALJIT NAGRA

'Her dry, droll, clinically deadpan manner is all her own; but her themes - obscure hurts, implacable dissatisfactions, hardwired propensity for victimhood and suffering - reflect the experience of humanity at large'

CHRISTOPHER REID