I’m sorry you feel that way

Shortlisted for the Nota Bene Prize

A compelling domestic comedy about complex family dynamics, mental health and the intricacies of sibling relationships.

For Alice and Hanna, saint and sinner, growing up is a trial. There is their mother, who takes a divide-and-conquer approach to child-rearing, and their father, who takes an absent one. There is also their older brother Michael, whose disapproval is a force to be reckoned with.

There is the catastrophe that is never spoken of, but which has shaped everything . . .

As adults, Alice and Hanna must deal with disappointments in work and in love as well as increasingly complicated family tensions, and lives that look dismayingly dissimilar to what they'd intended. They must look for a way to repair their own fractured relationship, and they must finally choose their own approach to their dominant mother: submit or burn the house down. And they must decide at last whether life is really anything more than (as Hanna would have it) a tragedy with a few hilarious moments.

'SO brilliant. A brutally funny and whip-smart novel about dysfunctional families, with some of the best fictional sibling relationships I've ever read. It'll easily be one of my Books of the Year.' Hannah Beckerman

‘I wish more novels began like this — tight, smart and looking for trouble. You’ll struggle to find a better opening sentence in fiction this year. I’m Sorry You Feel That Way … made me laugh on public transport, which is rare for anyone, I think … Reading is a quiet, internal business and a joke that might expect a snort in the pub will usually make do with a smile on the page. Yet this novel just can’t help itself … The dialogue is excellent … But even better than the witty observations are the pure comedy set pieces … If Wait isn’t already in a TV comedy writers’ room, she should be … But it’s more than just a farce. Things happen, big dramatic things, and there’s love and anguish and good people making terrible mistakes … It’s a warm book and a touching one. And did I mention it’s funny? Just read it. You’ll see.’ The Times

‘Perceptive, compelling and dryly funny, this unmissable story of a dysfunctional family is a masterful novel, Wait’s piercing wit and laser-sharp insight showing how easily family dynamics can spiral out of control.’ Daily Express

'If you liked Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss, you'll love this novel' Good Housekeeping

'Funny, tender and sad' Sunday Express

'A deep dive into a dysfunctional family and its intergenerational trauma that somehow manages to be deeply sad and extremely funny … One of the richest explorations of family dysfunction I've read' i News

'Shades of Fleabag in this smart, funny drama' Mail on Sunday

'An enjoyably bittersweet novel about a dysfunctional modern family' Independent

'A masterclass in familial tensions, told with razor-sharp dialogue, wit and emotional insight' Observer

‘As funny as it is devastating’ Red Magazine

'This sharp, wise comedy explores difficult family dynamics… yet it’s also one of the funniest novels you'll read this year.' Guardian

‘This is a smart, sometimes hilarious novel in which blood might prove thicker than water.’ Saga

‘Smart, witty and affecting’ Stylist