People Person - by Candice Carty-Williams

About the Book

Dimple Pennington knows of her half siblings, but she doesn't really KNOW them. Five people who don't have anything in common except for faint memories of being driven through Brixton in their dad's gold jeep, and some pretty complex abandonment issues. Dimple has bigger things to think about. She's thirty, and her life isn't really going anywhere. An aspiring lifestyle influencer with a terrible and wayward boyfriend, Dimple's life has shrunk to the size of a phone screen. And despite a small but loyal following, she's never felt more alone in her life. That is, until a dramatic event brings her half siblings Nikisha, Danny, Lizzie, and Prynce crashing back into her life. And when they're all forced to reconnect with Cyril Pennington, the absent father they never really knew, things get even more complicated.--

Book Synopsis

The author of the "brazenly hilarious, tell-it-like-it-is first novel" (Oprah Daily) Queenie returns with another witty and insightful "treat" (Jesse Armstrong, creator of Succession) of a novel about the power of family--even when they seem like strangers.

If you could choose your family...you wouldn't choose the Penningtons.

Dimple Pennington knows of her half-siblings, but she doesn't really know them. Five people who don't have anything in common except for faint memories of being driven through Brixton in their dad's gold jeep, and some pretty complex abandonment issues. Dimple has bigger things to think about.

She's thirty, and her life isn't really going anywhere. An aspiring lifestyle influencer with a wayward boyfriend, Dimple's life has shrunk to the size of a phone screen. And despite a small but loyal following, she's never felt more alone in her life. That is, until a dramatic event brings her half-siblings--Nikisha, Danny, Lizzie, and Prynce--crashing back into her life. And when they're all forced to reconnect with Cyril Pennington, the absent father they never really knew, things get even more complicated.

Vibrant and charming, People Person is "a way-out combination of family drama, madcap plot, and political edge" (Kirkus Reviews).

Review Quotes

"Fresh, funny, poignant--of the moment."--Oprah Daily

"A dark comedy, full of zinging dialogue, vivid characters and all the consolations and complications of family. A treat." --Jesse Armstrong, creator of Succession

"Candice Carty-William's sophomore novel is a charming delight. Here is a big-hearted story about five siblings who find a way to become a family despite the absence of their itinerant father... An incredibly satisfying read."--Roxanne Gay, New York Times Bestselling author of Hunger

"A hilarious romp." --Oprah Quarterly

"A big-hearted story of a young woman coming to terms with her complicated London family from the author of the game-changing Queenie." --The Guardian

"The ambition behind Carty-Williams's novel calls to mind what Zadie Smith brought to her first novel, 'White Teeth.' And to some extent, Carty-Williams is to south London what Smith is to the north: a sharp, humorous voice that paints greater London's Black communities with the nuance they deserve."--Washington Post

"...A big-hearted reminder that a messy family is still a family." --Time Magazine

"A darkly comedic novel of family... As heartfelt as it is hilarious. Carty-Williams probes hard questions about race, microaggressions and abandonment within a larger, somehow softer story about what makes a family, what makes a friend and what happens when the two are one and the same." --Shelf Awareness

"I loved People Person. Candice is so gifted at pulling you in as a writer. The storyline is hugely arresting and I was gripped immediately. Candice is remarkably perceptive in the way she writes people; her characters that are so well drawn, and so believable. When I wasn't reading People Person I was thinking about it and I had to finish it at the earliest opportunity." --Annie Mac

"People Person is a portrait of a family that is as poignant as it is hilarious. It had me belly-laughing, then picking up my jaw from the floor, then nodding in delighted agreement. Candice is a writer who is not only revealing modern Britain with each of her novels; she is defining it. Cyril Pennington is a character for the ages, but this story truly belongs to the children he never managed to parent. I loved it." --Sara Collins

"Wonderful. People Person is about 5 half-siblings (1 dad, 4 mothers) who, in response to a crisis, meet as adults and start shaping themselves into a family. It's a warm novel, funny and full of emotional intelligence. The tone is light-hearted, even comic at times, but underneath there's an undertow, a steady drumbeat reminding us of all the microaggressions black people experience on a daily basis - and that white people are mostly oblivious of. I cannot recommend it highly enough." --Marian Keyes

"People Person is more than just the title of this phenomenal second novel. It's a statement of intent. It's a declaration that when Candice Carty-Williams writes, she captures the hearts and minds of readers everywhere." --Melissa Cummings-Quarry, Black Girls Book Club

"People Person is a triumph. I was so moved by this tender, often humorous, portrait of these five siblings, their burgeoning relationships and all their complexities. I loved every one of these beautifully rendered characters and I'm sure the world will too. I couldn't put it down." --Caleb Nelson, author of Open Water

About the Author

Candice Carty-Williams is a writer, now a showrunner, and the author of the Sunday Times (London) bestselling Queenie, which was shortlisted by Goodreads for book of the year in 2019 and won the British Books Awards Book of the Year in 2020. In 2016, Candice created and launched the Guardian 4th Estate Short Story Prize, the first inclusive initiative of its kind in book publishing. Candice has written for The Guardian, i-D, Vogue, and pretty much every publication you can think of. She will probably always live in South London. Follow her on Instagram @CandiceC_W.