Bright Young Things

Six recent graduates in their twenties have drifted into poorly paid, unfulfilling work and feel stuck. Restless and eager for a change, they answer a cryptic newspaper advertisement for an unusual position. The job turns out to be nothing like they imagined: they wake up cut off on a remote island, where their lodgings are comfortable and the fridge is stocked, yet every route back to the outside world has been closed off.

The novel follows the group as their confinement grows stranger and the question of what they have actually signed up for becomes harder to ignore. Told with a sharp, wry voice, it explores ambition, disillusionment and the pressure to find meaning in early adulthood, set against a claustrophobic island setting.

Scarlett Thomas is a British novelist whose earlier books include PopCo. Bright Young Things is written for adult readers.