The Dynamite Room A Novel [Paperback]

Accomplished, resonant, and surprising. (Guardian)--a debut reminiscent of the beloved SUMMER OF MY GERMAN SOLDIER.

In July 1940, eleven-year-old Lydia escapes life as a child evacuee in Wales. She arrives home to her English village, gas mask in tow, only to find it abandoned. Her family's house is shuttered and empty. Lydia settles in though, determined to wait out the war.

Later that night he arrives: a wounded soldier, gun-wielding, heralding a full-blown German invasion. He says he won't hurt Lydia, but she cannot leave the house.

The unlikely pair coexists in their claustrophobic confines, becoming dependent on each other for survival. Lydia soon realizes that the soldier knows more than he should about her family--and that he's plotting something for them both.

Eerie, gripping, and incredibly moving,The Dynamite Roombrings an original and contemporary resonance to the great tradition of war classics.

Jason Hewitt is a playwright and actor. He was born in Oxford and lives in London.The Dynamite Roomis his first novel.Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize

A Barnes and Noble's Discover Great New Writers pick of 2015

PRAISE FORTHE DYNAMITE ROOM:

Wow. Wonderful. --Chris Cleave, author ofLittle BeeandGold Suspenseful and powerful. A novel of great humanity that exposes the absurd contradictions of war. --Samantha Harvey, author ofThe Wilderness, short-listed for the Orange Prize and long-listed for the Man Booker Prize Superb. Absorbing, suspenseful and with a beautifully poetic touch. --Nathan Filer, author of the Costa Award-winningThe Shock of the Fall Clever and unsettling, this most unconventional of war stories had me totally gripped. --Shelley Harris, author ofJubilee An effective psychological drama between two extraordinary characters. Claustrophobic, touching, cl3$