Rainbow Milk: an Observer 2020 Top 10 Debut by Paul Mendez

This debut cements Mendez as a stunning new voice in fiction. Semi-autobiographical, this gripping coming-of-age story set in the Black Country in the 1950s follows 19-year-old Jesse as he comes to terms with his racial and sexual identity against the backdrop of his repressive religious upbringing . . . An original addition to the queer fiction canon - Cosmopolitan

Exquisite descriptions of the body, of longing and lust, set against the recent history of the nation. Proof once more there can be no discussion of English history that isn't also a discussion of blackness, queerness and class - Andrew McMillan

Sensuous and thrillingly well written - Observer

Eye-poppingly frank, urgent and fresh - Suzi Feay, Financial Times