The Amateur Science of Love by Craig Sherborne

JUDGES' COMMENTS

The Amateur Science of Love is the story of Colin, an egocentric young would-be actor, and the beguiling Tilda, an artist ten years his senior. With brutal honesty, Colin narrates the passionate beginnings of a relationship that slowly crumbles into boredom and loathing.

Sherborne refuses to shy away from any aspect of the relationship between Colin and Tilda: whether it be sexual inadequacy, the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy or the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness. In Colin, Sherborne has created a strong narrator whose unerring honesty and breathtaking selfishness give a fresh and quirky take on the oft told story of love gone wrong. Sherborne is a clever, insightful writer who, with expert use of humour and wit, has produced an unflinching and absorbing examination of human weakness.