27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Gunk by Saba Sams: nightclub boss left holding the baby after ex-husband's one-night stand
Author lives up to the hype in debut novel Gunk, with a portrayal of parenthood that is both smart and fresh
Today at 21:30
The publishing world loves and thrives on fresh blood, and was especially exhilarated when Saba Spiral Sams, then 25, released Send Nudes, a coolly deadpan collection of 10 short stories.
The slim but punchy collection, published in 2022, featured plenty of knockout one-liners, and covered all kinds of Gen Z preoccupations, from Tinder dating and selfies to miscarriage and shapewear. It marked Sams, who became a mother at 22, as a writer of considerable humanity, and one with plenty to say. With a place on Granta's Best of Young British Novelists in 2023, Sam's debut novel, if and when it appeared, was destined to make a splash.
