WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE
WINNER OF THE AUTHORS' CLUB FIRST NOVEL AWARD
WINNER OF THE MCKITTERICK PRIZE
WINNER OF BARNES & NOBLE'S DISCOVER NEW WRITERS PRIZE
ONE OF THE BBC'S '100 NOVELS THAT SHAPED OUR WORLD'

Selected by Sarah Jessica Parker for her imprint SJP for Hogarth. A ‘BoTM’ selection. A BBC Radio 4 ‘Book at Bedtime’.

A 2019 Book of the Year in The Times and the Evening Standard.

International editions: 66thand2nd (Italy); Editions Gutenberg (Greece); Eksmo (Russia); Hoffman und Campe (Germany); JC Lattes (French); Olimpos (Turkey); Todavia (Brazil).

One father. Two sons. An impossible choice.

When thirteen-year-old Paul doesn't return home one afternoon, even his twin brother, Peter, doesn't know where he is. So their father, Clyde, must set out into the dark Trinidadian bush with a torch, to search for him on foot. And when the reasons for Paul's disappearance become clear, Clyde will be faced with a terrible decision. How does a father choose between his children? How does he weigh up what each one is worth? Which one is the golden child?

Read an excerpt.

“Golden Child is a stunning novel written with force and beauty. Though true to herself, Adam's work stands tall beside icons of her tradition like V.S. Naipaul.”

—JENNIFER CLEMENT, AUTHOR OF GUN LOVE
“Golden Child swells with wisdom about masculinity, family, violence and sacrifice. I read it in a sitting, gripping the pages, nails chewed down by the final word. An intense, heart-breaking debut.”

—DANIEL MAGARIEL, AUTHOR OF ONE OF THE BOYS
“The characters in Golden Child are so completely real that I keep forgetting that their home is the page; they seem to breathe and think on their own. This is a devastating, wonderful book, and I can't help but wait impatiently for whatever Claire Adam writes next.”

—SARA TAYLOR, AUTHOR OF THE LAURAS
“Utterly convincing, horrifying and, ultimately, intensely moving, it’s almost impossible to believe this small masterpiece is a first novel. Adam is a true and rare talent. I’m in awe.”

—JULIE MYERSON, AUTHOR OF THE STOPPED HEART
"Throughout this stunning portrait of Trinidad’s multicultural diversity, and one family’s sacrifices, soaring hopes and ultimate despair, Adam weaves a poetic lightness and beauty that will transfix readers."

—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, (STARRED REVIEW)
“In fluid and uncluttered prose, Golden Child weaves an enveloping portrait of an insular social order in which the claustrophobic support of family and neighbors coexists with an omnipresent threat from the same corners.”

—THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
“[A] powerful debut . . . a devastating family portrait—and a fascinating window into Trinidadian society.”

—PEOPLE
“[An] emotionally potent debut novel . . . with a spare, evocative style, Adam (a Trinidad native) evokes the island’s complexity during the mid-'80s, when the novel is mostly set: the tenuous relationship between Hindus like Clyde’s family and the twins’ Catholic schoolmaster, assassinations and abductions hyped by lurid media headlines, resources that attract carpetbagging oil companies but leave the country largely impoverished.”

—USA TODAY
"Adam's writing is luxuriant, evoking the atmospheric island setting and the complicated, worried lives lived under a near-constant sense of impending violence...Heartbreaking and lovely, this is an important work by a promising new voice."

—BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW)
"Fascinating...an incisive and loving portrait of contemporary Trinidad."

—KIRKUS
"This book manages to combine two things rarely bound together in the same spine: a sensitive depiction of family life and the page-flicking urgency of a thriller."

—THE GUARDIAN
"Startling... Remarkable. This is a tough, original novel of remarkable poise and confidence."

—THE ECONOMIST
"Golden Child is a beautiful and haunting tale, one that leaves readers thinking long after the last page has been turned."

—ASSOCIATED PRESS—Associated Press

Sarah Jessica Parker and Claire Adam discuss Golden Child (video).

Claire on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers (video, via facebook).

Sarah Jessica Parker and Claire on NBC’s Today Show (video).

Golden Child - BBC R4 Book at Bedtime (audio; not currently available).

Claire talks about Golden Child at the PRH Library Journal conference (video).

Claire talks about Golden Child on the Literary Friction podcast (audio).

Available here (UK)

Available here (USA)

“Golden Child is a stunning novel written with force and beauty. Though true to herself, Adam's work stands tall beside icons of her tradition like V.S. Naipaul.”

“Golden Child swells with wisdom about masculinity, family, violence and sacrifice. I read it in a sitting, gripping the pages, nails chewed down by the final word. An intense, heart-breaking debut.”

“The characters in Golden Child are so completely real that I keep forgetting that their home is the page; they seem to breathe and think on their own. This is a devastating, wonderful book, and I can't help but wait impatiently for whatever Claire Adam writes next.”

“Utterly convincing, horrifying and, ultimately, intensely moving, it’s almost impossible to believe this small masterpiece is a first novel. Adam is a true and rare talent. I’m in awe.”

"Throughout this stunning portrait of Trinidad’s multicultural diversity, and one family’s sacrifices, soaring hopes and ultimate despair, Adam weaves a poetic lightness and beauty that will transfix readers."

“In fluid and uncluttered prose, Golden Child weaves an enveloping portrait of an insular social order in which the claustrophobic support of family and neighbors coexists with an omnipresent threat from the same corners.”

“[A] powerful debut . . . a devastating family portrait—and a fascinating window into Trinidadian society.”

"Adam's writing is luxuriant, evoking the atmospheric island setting and the complicated, worried lives lived under a near-constant sense of impending violence...Heartbreaking and lovely, this is an important work by a promising new voice."

"Fascinating...an incisive and loving portrait of contemporary Trinidad."

"This book manages to combine two things rarely bound together in the same spine: a sensitive depiction of family life and the page-flicking urgency of a thriller."

"Startling... Remarkable. This is a tough, original novel of remarkable poise and confidence."

"Golden Child is a beautiful and haunting tale, one that leaves readers thinking long after the last page has been turned."