Named one of The Guardian‘s best fiction books of 2024
“Funny and poignant, bittersweet and moving…. Going Home made me cry on more than one occasion, and laugh out loud many more times. It’s a terrific reminder that what binds us to our loved ones isn’t blood but the care we take to keep them close, and our ability to show up for them when we screw it up on the first go-round.”
—Isaac Fitzgerald, The New York Times
“Brilliantly observed….Lamont’s story of a make-do family revels in the often comically porous borders of faith, home, and adulthood.”
—The New Yorker
“Lamont explores the trade-offs of parenthood, the tidal pull of long-held bonds, and the dissonance of joy amid heartbreak in this witty, poignant debut.”
—People
“A wholly engaging and…affecting tale about friendship, fatherhood, family ties, and finding the ability to love unconditionally…. Infused with a steady supply of warmth, pathos, and sardonic wit….The novel’s standout feature is its expertly drawn characters. Lamont rotates their perspectives for each chapter and in doing so brings us closer to them.”
—Malcolm Forbes, The Boston Globe
“It’s rare to read something that captures with such unsentimentality a child’s range, their rapidly shifting obsessions, the quiddities of their language, their cunning wiles…. I’ve read Going Home twice now and I still don’t feel as if I’ve tapped its power. Children seem to be more alive than adults, keener, less jaded, and this novel feels the same, pepped up and gorgeous, just bristling with life.”
—Olivia Laing, The Guardian
“A bittersweet and moving debut that beautifully explores male friendship and what it means to be a father.”
—Good Housekeeping
“This coming-of-age debut is hilariously written and the ideal ‘I’m looking to feel something’ read.”
—The Skimm
“This novel explores the glory and sacrifice involved in learning to love.”
—The Economist
“Lamont writes with an affable style that is wise to varying notions of masculinity…. We are delivered real, vivid characters in all their messy glory, crafted with such sensitivity that readers will care about them long after closing the book.”
—Megan Peck Shub, Jewish Book Council
“A trio of unlikely British men are tasked with unexpected fatherhood duties in the care of a delightfully inquisitive 4-year-old named Joel. The novel’s unforgettable characters and emphasis on caregiving and friendship spread a poignant and joyful message.”
—The Christian Science Monitor
“Someone put Tom Lamont’s Going Home in my hand the other day and I was soon involved in his lovely, exact sentences and perceptions, building a poignant and generous story about some men looking after a baby.”
—Tessa Hadley, The Daily Express
“A meltingly warm comedy.”
—The Observer, “Top 10 best debut novelists of 2024”
“Well-drawn characters, believable dialogue and nuanced emotions cast new light on love in this bittersweet book.”
—Sunday Express
“Good prose comes easily to Lamont; it can feel impressive and judicious without bring precious….Lamont continues to prove himself to be a champion and poetic transcriber of the local….Going Home has the lot. It has been a while since I’ve read a piece of straightforward British realism and been this impressed.”
—Jonathan McAloon, Financial Times
“Saddling his main characters with a child gives Tom Lamont scope to set his sharp debut novel, Going Home, in the burgeoning “dad lit” genre: hapless man wrestles with new arrival while making witty-yet-moving observations….His characters, to me, felt intensely real.”
—Susie Mesure, The Telegraph
“The gently comic, bittersweet story of a London man finding himself with responsibility for a two-year-old boy, in all his delightful, demanding, exhausting energy.”
—Justine Jordan, The Guardian
“A spirited, shrewd debut.”
—Daily Telegraph, “The Best 38 Novels of 2024 So Far”
“A beautiful, funny tale of London and lives new and old.”
—Jonathan Dean, Sunday Times
“Tom Lamont’s debut novel, Going Home, set in the Jewish community in Enfield, north London, has charm to burn.”
—John Self, The Guardian
“There’s a lot of fun to be had in this excellent debut centred on friendship, filial bonds and the demands of childcare.”
—Daily Mail
“The characters’ flaws add vivacity and realism to the narrative, as well as providing constant ups and downs. From the imperfections of life, Lamont has fashioned a poignant work of fiction.”
—New Statesman
“Vividly rendered…with emphasis on character and its warm, witty dialogue, Going Home is splendidly old fashioned but also strikingly modern in its themes and set-ups, especially its broader exploration of home and family.”
—Jude Cook, Times Literary Supplement
“Well-drawn characters, believable dialogue and nuanced emotions cast new light on love in this bittersweet book.”
—Sunday Express
“An affecting debut about fatherhood and male friendship.”
—Inews, “Best books in June”
“A journey into a rarely explored territory.”
—Sainsbury’s Magazine
“Touching….Well-drawn characters, believable dialogue and nuanced emotions cast new light on life in this bittersweet book.”
—Press Association
“A bittersweet story casting new light on love.”
—Daily Mirror
“Lamont’s deft blending of humour and pathos marks him down as a writer to watch.”
—Max Davidson, The Mail on Sunday
“Well-drawn characters, believable dialogue and nuanced emotions cast new light on love in this bittersweet book.”
—The Herald
“What most impresses about Going Home is the brilliant portrait of Joel….This is a ‘sharp,’ refreshing debut.”
—The Week
“Subtle and moving….Well-drawn characters, believable dialogue and nuanced emotions cast new light on love in this bittersweet book.”
—Cambridge News
“Very funny in places and deeply poignant in others—I loved it.”
—India Knight, “Home” Substack
“Going Home might feature one of the greatest iterations of the quintessentially British ‘forever-a-lad’ archetype….I know so may guys like Benjamin Mossam, indeed most of my dearest friends remind me of him, but never found a novel that portrayed them quite the same way, definitely not so fondly and with such texture and complexity.”
—Bartolomeo Sala, Something Curated
“[A] fine and spirit-lifting debut novel of friendship, fatherhood, growth and forgiveness. A bluff song of praise to North London, peopled by engaging, fallible characters, and rich in glinting turns of phrase.”
—David Mitchell, Author of Utopia Avenue
“A tender, original, finely-paced debut.”
—Pandora Sykes, journalist and author of How Do We Know We’re Doing it Right
“I will never forget these characters: so pained and funny, so brilliantly drawn, wrestled with and forgiven.”
—Helen Garner, author of This House of Grief
“A remarkably assured, moving, melancholy and funny debut.”
—John Banville, bestselling author of The Lock-Up
“Going Home is a poignant yet funny novel about three men taking turns at shouldering responsibility and shrugging it off, at worrying and causing worry, at giving care and needing it. Tom Lamont writes in clear, swift prose about the power struggles that exist in even the most living of families and the longest of friendships. A lyrical, hypnotic delight.”
—Katherine Heiny, author of Games and Rituals
“A debut which skilfully and tenderly explores male relationships, belonging and what we leave behind. I adored every moment. The characters have stayed with me ever since.”
—Bella Mackie, author of How to Kill Your Family
“Bittersweet, funny and moving, GOING HOME is all this but also has a bright ring of truth which chimes on every page.”
—Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground
“I enjoyed this sharp, tender novel of love and loss set in a scrupulously observed London suburb. From tragic beginnings it builds a slow fire of hope as its characters learn new ways to live and care for each other.”
—Adam Foulds, author of The Quickening Maze
“Deftly written, GOING HOME is one of the best debuts I’ve read in a long time. Joel and Téo crept into my heart and I did not want to let them go. Lamont’s impressive skill as a writer spills out of every page.”
—Anne Griffin, author of The Island of Longing
“In capturing the gradual and thorny journey of Joel and Téo towards becoming father and son, almost despite themselves, Lamont does something remarkable….Lamont shows that parenthood is made in the parenting, not in any blood connection. And in this honest depiction, it consists of frustration, impatience, poor sleep and rapturous moments of comedy, love and tenderness.”
—Literary Review
“[A] poignant, immersive and finely observed novel.”
—The Bookseller, “Editor’s Choice”
“Going Home overflows with heart, and its characters feel real with their multitude of dreams, fears, serious self-doubts and fierce loyalties…. Lamont paces events with precision and humor, asking life’s big questions regarding family and friendship, duty and devotion…. The debut of a gifted writer whose readers will find themselves feeling better, somehow, about the world.”
—BookPage
“There is so much to love about this book, foremost the poignantly, sometimes painfully detailed portrait of 30-something guys….Joel himself—his way of speaking, his tantrums, his predilections, his memory—is one of the most vivid fictional children since Jack in Room….Their synagogue has a new rabbi, a woman named Sibyl Challis, who is also the best rabbi character in recent memory….A great premise, a great story, but most of all, great characters.”
—Kirkus (starred review)
“The shifts in perspective and the rich characterization [in Going Home] are similar to those of Jonathan Franzen….Lamont superbly depicts neurodegenerative decline and complex family dynamics in his first novel. Brilliantly capturing mundane and surprising aspects of raising a child, this is a fascinating portrait of parenting, the British Jewish community, and the struggle to break ties that may be holding you back.”
—Booklist
