Big Kiss, Bye-Bye
A Novel
A woman confronts the afterlife of intimacy, in a deeply tender novel by one of our most acclaimed and inventive fiction writers
The things that hold life in place have been lifted off and put away. Uprooted by circumstance from city to deep countryside, a woman lives in temporary limbo, visited by memories of all she’s left behind. The most insistent are those of Xavier, who has always been certain he knows her better than anyone, better than she knows herself. Xavier, whom she still loves but no longer desires, a displacement he has been unable to accept.
An unexpected letter from an old acquaintance brings back a torrent of others she’s loved or wanted. Each has been a match and a…
Available for Pre-Order
$39.00
October 21, 2025
Claire-Louise Bennett is the author of Pond, which was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, and Checkout 19, which was named a The New York Times “10 Best Books of the Year” and an “Essential Read” by The New Yorker. Her short fiction and essays have been published in The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s Magazine, and other publications. She lives in Galway, Ireland.
Big Kiss, Bye-Bye
Claire-Louise Bennett
Checkout 19
Claire-Louise Bennett