Bloody Awful in Different Ways

What a book! I laughed, cried, despaired and hoped for this young boy negotiating 7 fathers in 7 chaotic years, taking us with him for the wild ride. A story that reads this easily with consummate fluidity, pace and comic timing deserves the widest audience possible

Jo Browning Wroe, author of A Terrible Kindness

In a perfect balance between levity and sadness, Andrev Walden depicts a boy's attempt to come to terms with a life where fathers are constantly replaced. Bloody Men is a humorous examination of a different kind of childhood, which, despite the pervasive blackness, is portrayed with an inexhaustible warmth and presence

August Prize Judges

Outstanding literature. Shamelessly entertaining

Sydsvenskan

Walden makes both trivialities and atrocities sparkle

Aftonbladet

This is a childhood story of the humorous kind, which occasionally resembles a fairy tale – but also has a core of seriousness and sadness, through its portrayal of men’s violence against women and children … A remarkable achievement, Bloody Men is a debut that bodes very well

Svenska Dagbladet

A hair-raising story, formidably told [...] I would sacrifice blood for his language

Dala-Demokraten

Walden impresses greatly with his thoughtful storytelling and unique filter against reality

Göteborgsposten

If there is such a thing as an absolute literary ear, Andrev Walden has it, because throughout the book he hits every single note right and that is something very unusual - 5/5

BTJ

This tragicomic account of a boyhood is at once sitcom, circus, and extended nightmare. As Andrev learns about masculinity through a series of hapless and sometimes toxic ‘dads’, his memorable and wildly vivid voice persists as a form of hope

Clare Pollard, author of The Modern Fairies