Gunk

From the award-winning author of the smash hit Send Nudes: an electrifying debut exploring love and desire, chaos and control - and family in all its forms

Jules has been divorced from her ex-husband Leon for ­five years, but she still works alongside him at Gunk, the grotty student nightclub he owns in central Brighton. She spends her nights serving shots and watching, from behind the bar, as Leon flirts with students on the dancefloor.

But then Leon hires nineteen-year-old Nim to work the bar - and her arrival jolts Jules awake for the ­ first time in years. When Nim discovers she's pregnant, Jules agrees to help. As the months pass, and the relationship between the two women grows increasingly intimate and perplexing, it emerges that Nim has her own unexpected gifts to give.

Now, alone in her small flat, Jules is holding a baby, just twenty-four hours old, who still smells of Nim. But no one knows where Nim is, or if she's coming back. What could the future - for Jules, Nim, and this unnamed baby - possibly look like?

Raw, exhilarating, tender and wise, Gunk is an electrifying debut novel exploring love and desire, safety and destruction, chaos and control - and family in all its forms.

Review

Saba Sams made waves with Send Nudes ... Now the 28-year-old author has written her first novel, about the bond between two women from different generations - and what happens when a baby arrives in the mix ― SUNDAY TIMES, The 40 books to look out for in 2025 ― the critics’ picks

Young motherhood reimagined by an exciting new literary voice ... A warm, often funny novel about an unconventional partnership ... It's a joy to read ― THE TIMES

Sams' poignant tale parks issues of identity as essentially unknowable, and simply glories in the mess of life ― FINANCIAL TIMES, Best new debut novels

A fresh look at unconventional relationships and chosen family by the author of the award-winning story collection Send Nudes ― GUARDIAN, the books to look forward to in 2025

Imbued with an affecting authenticity of feeling, this is an involving exploration of life, love and family forged beyond labels by one of Gen Z's sharpest observers ― DAILY MAIL

Gunk, the scuzzy nightclub. Gunk, the shining, beautiful novel. This exceptional exploration of love and possibility remained with me long after I'd finished reading -- WENDY ERSKINE

A literary wunderkind ... Acutely observed and tight in focus ― HARPERS BAZAAR, Five debut female authors to read in 2025

An intimate and tender exploration of love's possibilities, of the shapes it can find and create inside people, of how it is always surprising us. Its's a novel both quietly devastating and shimmeringly, acutely, observed -- SOPHIE MACKINTOSH

Compulsively readable, intelligent and strange, Gunk is a beautiful and original exploration of what it means to be in kinship with other people. This is a striking and special book -- OISÍN McKENNA

From the writer of Send Nudes comes the novel Gunk. Yes, we are obsessed with the title. The novel explores the multi-layered relationship between two women, Jules and Nim ― COSMOPOLITAN, The 25 books we can't wait to read in 2025

This tender fictional debut by celebrated essayist Sams looks at blended families and nontraditional life choices. Prepare for one of the best birth scenes written on the page along with an original and ageless relationship between two women, Jules and Nim, who meet each other behind the bar at Brighton nightclub Gunk. This will make you think differently about parenting, friendships and the goals we set in life ― ELLE, The Cult Books We Can’t Wait To Read In 2025

About the Author

Saba Sams was raised in Brighton and now lives in London. She was selected for Granta's Best of Young British Novelists in 2023 and The Sunday Times' Young Power List in 2025. Her short story collection Send Nudes was awarded the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2022 and was shortlisted for the University of Swansea International Dylan Thomas Prize 2023. The story 'Blue 4eva' from the collection was awarded the BBC National Short Story Award. Send Nudes was selected as a book of the year by the Guardian, Stylist, Vogue, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Evening Standard, Irish Independent, AnOther, Foyles and bookshop.org, and was named a Sunday Times paperback of the year in 2023.