Our Numbered Bones

'Cathartic, bold and ultimately hopeful. A novel with a powerful emotional charge that stayed with me long after I finished it. Katya Balen understands very well how the strange resides in the everyday, how the dark intermingles with the light - but above all, how accepting the difficult archaeologies of our past can offer restitution, and a hope that will not fade' JESSIE BURTON


'In this visceral, moving and at moments heart-wrenching debut, Katya Balen breathes life into the phenomenon of bog bodies, asking us to confront what our fascination with them might tell us about ourselves. A book to read in a sitting, and one that will stay with you, surfacing at unguarded moments' LUCY CALDWELL


'In this powerful and precise novel, one woman's attempt to reconcile grief with obligation unfolds into a boundless meditation on the female body through time. Layered and textured, funny and sad, I read it in an afternoon and have been thinking about it ever since' CATHY RENTZENBRINK

'This book is fierce, funny, tender and true. I knew it would be brilliant, but I didn't know much I would love it, and how much I would admire it' LUCY MANGAN


'Disquieting, beautiful, earthy. Our Numbered Bones made its way inside of me, words following me long after I'd finished reading. Balen has crafted a stunning, raw meditation on grief, nature and writing. An invisible string transcends centuries, living and dead entwined in their mutual request for recognition. Masterfully written, Balen's prose envelopes you from the very first page' JODIE MATTHEWS