Big Nobody
3499
Big Nobody
3499
Fizzingly original, disarmingly tender and laugh-out-loud funny, BIG NOBODY is a coming-of-age story about first love, first grief, and the long, painful journey to feeling like a somebody. A FIZZINGLY ORIGINAL COMING-OF-AGE STORY FOR FANS OF HOW TO KILL YOUR FAMILY 'Riotously funny, nostalgic and immensely touching.' PANDORA SYKES 'Your new favourite novel.' INDIA KNIGHT 'A debut that sparkles like Marc Bolan's eye makeup.' GUARDIAN For Constance 'Connie' Costa, life is just beginning. She dreams of leaving behind her dull, dreary life in '70s East London, shaking off her deeply embarrassing Greek-Cypriot community of interfering Aunties and pretend 'cousins', and running away with her best mate Vas (fellow misfit; NHS specs; soul of a poet). She is determined to take her rightful place alongside her hero, David Bowie, onstage at Wembley Stadium. Only one thing stands in her way- her father, The Fat Murderer. No longer content with being an absolute imbecile and general abomination of nature, he has dialled up his campaign to ruin Connie's life ever since the untimely death of her mother. If she ever wants to claim the destiny that is rightfully hers, Connie has only one option left- to kill him. Fizzingly original, disarmingly tender and laugh-out-loud funny, BIG NOBODY is a coming-of-age story about first love, first grief, and the long, painful journey to feeling like a somebody. 'Broke my heart one minute and had me really laughing the next.' XOCHITL GONZALEZ, author of OLGA DIES DREAMING 'Hands down the funniest, most original novel I've read in ages.' GRANT GINDER, author of THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING 'Audacious and hilarious.' RUMAAN ALAM, author of LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND READERS LOVE CONNIE COSTA . . . 'Poignant, authentic and darkly funny' ***** 'Fabulous - I was rooting for Connie the whole way' ***** 'Smart, funny, quirky' *****
Big Nobody is one of my favourite novels so far this year. ... I love to see a woman in her sixties with a first novel, let alone one this good. -- India Knight
So, so good - brilliantly funny and absolutely heartbreaking. I can't think of anyone who has channelled the teenage voice as well since Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole -- India Knight * Sunday Times *
It's hard not to root for a heroine who is so touching, a mixture of resilience and hurt, bouncy self-esteem and its crushing opposite. ... A debut that sparkles like Marc Bolan's eye makeup. * Guardian *
This original, compelling coming-of-age story is alternately heart-breaking and hilarious - I rooted for Connie from the start. * Daily Mail *
A dark coming-of-age story steeped in teenage frustration and era-defining music. * Woman's Own *
With BIG NOBODY a big new voice has arrived in fiction. Chock with wit, whimsy and the poignancy of unprocessed pain, this book broke my heart one minute and had me really laughing the next. In Connie, with her resilience and fierce determination to live on her own terms, Alex Kadis has given us a protagonist who will stay with you for a very long time. -- Xochitl Gonzalez
This audacious debut novel reminds readers that humour might be the best way to talk about heartbreak. Big Nobody offers us both: it's a hilarious tale of awkward (is there any other kind?) adolescence that is also a moving story of family dysfunction. Don’t worry: there’s trauma, but there’s triumph, too. -- Rumaan Alam, author of LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND
BIG NOBODY is hands down the funniest, most original novel I’ve read in ages; it’s also a surprisingly moving story about what it means to strike out on your own in a hostile, bewildering world, told by one of the most memorable new narrators in contemporary fiction. Keep Alex Kadis on your radar - she’s a force to be reckoned with. I am totally, utterly, out-of-my-mind obsessed with this book. -- Grant Ginder, author of THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING
Delightfully original . . . both creatively daring and perfectly evocative of the melodramatic emotional shitshow that is adolescence. My Big Fat Greek Coming-of-Age Novel, narrated by one of the great teenage curmudgeons of recent literature * Kirkus *
Details
ISBN13: 9781529155310
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 368
Edition:
Publication Date: 03 Mar 2026
Publisher: Cornerstone
Publication City, Country: United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 21.5(H)x13.4(L)x2.9(W)365
Weight (gm): 365
Author Biography
Alex Kadis is half-British, half-Greek, and grew up in Leyton and Walthamstow, East London. She studied English Literature at Goldsmiths University before embarking on a music journalism career. She was Features Editor at Smash Hits in its heyday (RIP) and has also written for various newspapers and magazines, including Sunday Times Style and Q Magazine. She then went into artist management and now works as a consultant in the music industry. Alex suffers from delusions of grandeur and still believes she will, one day, headline Wembley Stadium.Reviews
Riotously funny, nostalgic and immensely touching. If this isn’t a hit I will eat my hat. -- Pandora SykesBig Nobody is one of my favourite novels so far this year. ... I love to see a woman in her sixties with a first novel, let alone one this good. -- India Knight
So, so good - brilliantly funny and absolutely heartbreaking. I can't think of anyone who has channelled the teenage voice as well since Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole -- India Knight * Sunday Times *
It's hard not to root for a heroine who is so touching, a mixture of resilience and hurt, bouncy self-esteem and its crushing opposite. ... A debut that sparkles like Marc Bolan's eye makeup. * Guardian *
This original, compelling coming-of-age story is alternately heart-breaking and hilarious - I rooted for Connie from the start. * Daily Mail *
A dark coming-of-age story steeped in teenage frustration and era-defining music. * Woman's Own *
With BIG NOBODY a big new voice has arrived in fiction. Chock with wit, whimsy and the poignancy of unprocessed pain, this book broke my heart one minute and had me really laughing the next. In Connie, with her resilience and fierce determination to live on her own terms, Alex Kadis has given us a protagonist who will stay with you for a very long time. -- Xochitl Gonzalez
This audacious debut novel reminds readers that humour might be the best way to talk about heartbreak. Big Nobody offers us both: it's a hilarious tale of awkward (is there any other kind?) adolescence that is also a moving story of family dysfunction. Don’t worry: there’s trauma, but there’s triumph, too. -- Rumaan Alam, author of LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND
BIG NOBODY is hands down the funniest, most original novel I’ve read in ages; it’s also a surprisingly moving story about what it means to strike out on your own in a hostile, bewildering world, told by one of the most memorable new narrators in contemporary fiction. Keep Alex Kadis on your radar - she’s a force to be reckoned with. I am totally, utterly, out-of-my-mind obsessed with this book. -- Grant Ginder, author of THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING
Delightfully original . . . both creatively daring and perfectly evocative of the melodramatic emotional shitshow that is adolescence. My Big Fat Greek Coming-of-Age Novel, narrated by one of the great teenage curmudgeons of recent literature * Kirkus *