The first speculative work of fiction from Booker Prize-shortlisted, bestselling author Emma Donoghue, Blaze is a magnificent work of imagination and empathy.

‘Blaze haunts me in the best way . . . a beautiful example of the literature we need now’ – Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness

2040. A young pigeon named Blaze lives with her large, tight-knit flock on the fifth floor of an abandoned tower in a semi-flooded New York City. Life is full of danger but also joy.

When Blaze saves the life of a stranger and welcomes him into her flock, he brings with him a story: the forgotten history of the-time-before, of what life used to be like, and of what might still be possible.

As Blaze comes of age, she must learn to navigate the thrills and terrors of survival, love, parenthood. But the stranger’s story has changed everything, and soon Blaze finds herself forced to choose between adhering to the beliefs of her kind or forging a new path