Told from the alternating perspectives of five friends who grew up together on the same council estate, I See Buildings Fall like Lightning asks what happens when all the expectations we have of our lives are dashed.

Only Rian has made it out of the estate and moved away to another city, but his money doesn't stop him from clinging to a vision of the past that is quickly slipping away. Oli is fading by the day, drinking and snorting his way through the endless boredom. Things are looking up for Conor, but he is never too far away from chaos. Patrick and Shiv are as in love as ever, always the calm in the eye of the storm, but even they are rocked when old secrets begin to open new wounds.

Bold, ambitious, and stylistically striking, I See Buildings Fall like Lightning lays bare the economic, psychological, and spiritual impact of poverty, explores the redeeming and transforming beauty of friendship and examines the true limits of hope and forgiveness. 

Keiran Goddard
Keiran Goddard is the author of one poetry pamphlet (Strings) and two full-length poetry collections, For the Chorus and Votive, the first of which was shortlisted for the Melita Hume Prize and runner-up for the William Blake Prize. He speaks on issues related to social change and currently develops research on workers’ rights, the future of work, automation, and trade unionism. Hourglass is his debut novel and his first US publication.

• Feb 22 2024
  "Subtly radical."
  — The Guardian
• Feb 20 2024
  “Eloquent.”
  — New York Journal of Books
• Feb 1 2024
  “Nearly impossible to put down.”
  — Booklist