The number one bestselling author of global sensation, Lessons in Chemistry, returns with an irresistible story about a young man whose life turns upside down when he is hired by the most prestigious, secretive, and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world: the renowned Peck & Peck.

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GLOBAL SENSATION LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY RETURNS . . .

Peck & Peck tells the irresistible story of a young man whose life turns upside down when he is hired by the most prestigious, secretive and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world: the renowned Peck & Peck.

Batter Gray is worried about his future. Even when he was eleven, his classmates seemed to have settled on a goal: doctor, lawyer, broker, engineer. Good jobs that automatically command respect and security. Now Batter is in his early 20s, living in New York City, and he wants something different; something that alienates some people and bores most. Poetry. And yet to him - and exactly thirty-nine editors at a company called Peck & Peck - poetry not only represents the power of humanity but holds the key to its survival.

Batter was named after his mother's dog, who seemed to have achieved more in his short years on earth than he ever will. But as an identical twin who lost his brother at birth, Batter finds himself confronted by the everyday dualities that make up life: right vs. wrong, truth vs. lies, rejection vs. acceptance. It's almost as if his dead brother is a reminder: there are always two sides to every story.

No, wait. Make that three.

In Peck & Peck Bonnie Garmus has created a tour de force of a novel. Hugely original, brilliantly funny and peopled with unforgettable characters, Peck & Peck is both a passionate ode to the written word and a heartwarming exploration of all that makes us human.

"This novel is everything: a love story, a literary thriller, a brilliant satire that's full of humor and heart. Only Bonnie Garmus can write like this." - MEG MASON, internationally bestselling author of You Be Mother and Sorrow and Bliss

"I'm absolutely over the moon about Bonnie Garmus' new novel, Peck & Peck. It is EXACTLY what I needed to read right now. Charming, uplifting, soulful, and original, Peck & Peck is the perfect successor to Lessons In Chemistry. If you loved Elizabeth Zott, you will adore Batter Gray. Book clubs will adore this novel. I loved it." - KRISTIN HANNAH

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From the author of the award-winning, global bestseller Lessons in Chemistry:
*Translated into more than forty languages and developed as a major TV series for Apple TV
*Featured on BBC Radio 4 and BBC TV Between the Covers
*Winner of the Goodreads Choice Best Debut Novel Award
*Winner of the Books are My Bag Reader's Choice Award
*Winner of the Books are My Bag Breakthrough Author Award
*Winner of the Paul Torday Prize
*Shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize
*Shortlisted for the HWA Crown Award
*A Book of the Year for: Guardian, Times, Sunday Times, New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Woman & Home, Stylist, TLS, Oprah Daily, Newsweek, Mail on Sunday, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, India Knight, Hay Festival, Waterstones, Amazon and many more
*Bonnie Garmus was awarded Author of the Year at the British Book Awards

Praise for Lessons in Chemistry:
'Sparky, rip-roaring, funny' SUNDAY TIMES
'The most charming, life-enhancing novel I've read in ages' INDIA KNIGHT, Book of the Year
'Funny, thought-provoking and stylish' GUARDIAN
'I loved it' NIGELLA LAWSON
'Iconic' PANDORA SYKES
'Page-turning and highly satisfying tale' MAGGIE SHIPSTEAD

Details

ISBN13: 9781786588821
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 448
Edition:
Publication Date: 13 Oct 2026
Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
Publication City, Country: United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x16.3(L)x2.6(W)544
Weight (gm): 544

Author Biography

Bonnie Garmus is a coffee-dependent American novelist. Her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was a number one global bestseller and spent almost ninety weeks in the Sunday Times top 10. It was named by New York Times readers as one of the top 100 books of the 21st Century. Translated into forty-four languages, Lessons in Chemistry was honoured with sixteen international literary awards, including the British Book Awards Author of the Year, Waterstones Author of the Year, and Hay Festival's Book of the Year. It was also selected by Queen Camilla for the Queen's Reading Room, and made into an Apple TV limited series. Peck & Peck is her second novel.

Reviews

Laugh-out-loud funny - and a paean to the power of poetry . . . It is impossible not to be beguiled by Garmus's irrepressible humour and the freewheeling exuberance of her imagination * Guardian *
Charming, uplifting, soulful, and original, Peck & Peck is the perfect successor to Lessons In Chemistry. If you loved Elizabeth Zott, you will adore Batter Gray. * Kristin Hannah *
This novel is everything: a love story, a literary thriller, a brilliant satire that's full of humor and heart. Only Bonnie Garmus can write like this. * Meg Mason, international bestselling author of Sorrow and Bliss *
An absolute triumph of storytelling, writing and characterisation, Peck & Peck had me from the first sentence. This is a glorious celebration of, and plea for, the creative arts, with a cast of truly unforgettable characters, from the eponymous Peck and Peck to the excellently named narrator Batter Gray. I won't forget this book. Ever.' * Jennie Godfrey, Sunday Times bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things *
It was an absolute delight to escape into Bonnie Garmus's world of delinquent poets, demented publishers and recherché fonts. Her exuberant comedy and freewheeling imagination reminded me of John Irving in his prime. Many congratulations - no 'difficult second album' for Bonnie Garmus - I thought it was even better than her first. * Clare Chambers, bestselling author of Small Pleasures *
All the elements that made Lessons in Chemistry a runaway success are here: an eccentric cast of characters, punchy dialogue and a series of workplace capers you're completely invested in * Grazia *
One of the best books I've ever read. Genius level clever. A superbly crafted, intricate story about life, love and standing up for what you believe in. I absolutely loved it. * Donna Ashworth *
Magnificent. Captivating, funny, wise and wonderful. Peck & Peck is the book the literary world has been waiting for, and it delivers on every level. I couldn't love it more. * Chris Whitaker *
Delightful. Reading it was like living in a world of poetry and words, where a building that captured the feeling of both could exist. Also, where a dog can make a difference. Too real to be fantastical, yet fantastically different. I loved it, from the opening page with the various definitions of 'peck'. Perfect * Anne Youngson, author of Meet Me at the Museum *
Bonnie Garmus has done it again. Peck & Peck is an absolute cracker. Funny, vivid and enormously compelling (with another serious contender for Best Dog in Fiction Ever), you almost wonder if Batter Gray's world isn't secretly real? * AJ Pearce, bestselling author of Dear Mrs Bird *