Under the Rainbow
‘Laskey is a talented, sharp writer and her debut novel has its fingers on the pulse of the human condition’ Kristen Arnett, author of The New York Times-bestseller Mostly Dead Things
‘Refreshing, smartly executed and often very funny’ Mail Online
'Under the Rainbow is essential reading – both heartbreaking and hopeful. A novel that will stay with you’ Laura Kay, author of The Split
‘A heartwarming debut’ Now
Welcome to Big Burr, population 10,024.
Big Burr, Kansas is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone – or so they think. But after being labeled “the most homophobic town in America”, a group of queer activists are moving in, and everything is about to change.
Linda welcomes the newcomers. The less they know about the death of her son, the better. Avery is furious at being uprooted from her life in LA. She dreads her classmates discovering that her mom is the head of the queer task force. And Gabe, a lifelong Big Burr resident, is no longer sure about the life he's built with his wife.
While new friendships are formed, elsewhere tensions reach boiling point. And every resident, old and new, must reconsider the true meaning of community.
Celia Laskey is the author of Under the Rainbow, a finalist for the 2020 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Her other work has appeared in Guernica, the Minnesota Review, Day One, and elsewhere. She has an MFA from the University of New Mexico and currently lives in Los Angeles with her wife and their dog Whiskey. Her latest novel, So Happy For You, is out in July.