Not Working By Lisa Owens

Episode

First
Broadcast

Comments

20160502

Thirtysomething Claire Flannery has quit her job to discover her true vocation, only to realise that she has no idea how to go about finding it.

In her muddled but somehow impeccable logic she discovers that, 'the more time you have, the less time you have'. As the weeks stretch into months with nothing to show but an overflowing internet search history and an unintended feud with her mother, Claire finds herself sinking under pressure and wondering where her life fell apart.

Lisa Owens's comic debut novel tells the story of a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways, voicing the questions we've all asked ourselves but never dared to say out loud.

Lisa Owens was born in 1985 and grew up in Glasgow and Hertfordshire. After graduating, she spent six years working in publishing before leaving to complete an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. Not Working is her first novel.

Read by Emily Bruni.

Abridged in ten parts by Robin Brooks.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.

20160503

Claire's job hunt falters as she becomes distracted by family responsibilities and a growing concern about her relationship with Luke.

Lisa Owens' comic novel depicts a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways - and voicing the questions we've all asked ourselves but never dared to say out loud.

Read by Emily Bruni.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.

Claire's job hunt takes second place to family responsibilities. Lisa Owens' witty debut.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.

20160504

Claire is at a loss as to how to put things right with her mother, who is refusing to take her calls.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.

Read by Emily Bruni.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.

Claire tries to fix the rift with her mother. Lisa Owens' debut novel read by Emily Bruni.

20160505

Claire's mother is still not speaking to her, despite her father's best efforts to bring the two together.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways.

Read by Emily Bruni.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.

As the rift with her mum deepens, Claire spends her first Christmas away from the family.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.

20160506

No closer to finding her true vocation, Claire spends a weekend with Luke and his parents. What could go wrong?

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways.

Read by Emily Bruni.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016

Claire spends a disastrous weekend with Luke and his parents. Debut novel by Lisa Owens.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.

20160509

Claire discovers why she should have had the buddleia removed: cracks are appearing in the flat, seeming to match those in her relationship with Luke.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways.

Continued by Emily Bruni.

Claire Flannery has quit her marketing job in order to search for her true vocation. But months have passed and she's no closer to understanding what she wants to do with her life. It doesn't help that Luke, her long-term partner, is passionate about his job, which also happens to be one of the worthiest in the world... he's training to be a brain surgeon.

In addition, she's fallen out badly with her mother - who refuses to accept Claire's revelation that her grandfather exposed himself to her with she was little. It hadn't seemed like a big deal to Claire at the time, but her mother's reaction has left her hurt and reeling.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016

Lisa Owens' generation-defining comic debut novel, read by Emily Bruni.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.

20160510

Months after quitting her marketing job to search for her true vocation, Claire's relentless prevarication is starting to test the patience of her partner, Luke.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways.

Read by Emily Bruni.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016

Luke begins to lose patience with Claire's never-ending job search. Lisa Owens' debut.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.

20160511

Claire receivies a text from her mother, asking for a meeting to discuss Claire's revelations about her grandfather.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways.

Read by Emily Bruni.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016

Claire's mother agrees to a meeting, but instead of healing, the rift between them widens.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.

20160512

Claire makes a shocking discovery about Luke, leading her to cast doubt on their relationship.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways.

Read by Emily Bruni.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.

Claire learns something shocking about Luke, that throws doubt upon their relationship.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.

20160513

A family crisis brings Claire and her mother together, leading her to realise what she needs to do to resolve her search for her vocation.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways.

Concluded by Emily Bruni.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.

Final episode of Lisa Owens' generation-defining comic debut novel, read by Emily Bruni.

Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.

Episodes

Episode	First Broadcast	Comments
01	20160502	Thirtysomething Claire Flannery has quit her job to discover her true vocation, only to realise that she has no idea how to go about finding it. In her muddled but somehow impeccable logic she discovers that, 'the more time you have, the less time you have'. As the weeks stretch into months with nothing to show but an overflowing internet search history and an unintended feud with her mother, Claire finds herself sinking under pressure and wondering where her life fell apart. Lisa Owens's comic debut novel tells the story of a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways, voicing the questions we've all asked ourselves but never dared to say out loud. Lisa Owens was born in 1985 and grew up in Glasgow and Hertfordshire. After graduating, she spent six years working in publishing before leaving to complete an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. Not Working is her first novel. Read by Emily Bruni. Abridged in ten parts by Robin Brooks. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.
02	20160503	Claire's job hunt falters as she becomes distracted by family responsibilities and a growing concern about her relationship with Luke. Lisa Owens' comic novel depicts a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways - and voicing the questions we've all asked ourselves but never dared to say out loud. Read by Emily Bruni. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016. Claire's job hunt takes second place to family responsibilities. Lisa Owens' witty debut. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.
03	20160504	Claire is at a loss as to how to put things right with her mother, who is refusing to take her calls. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways. Read by Emily Bruni. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016. Claire tries to fix the rift with her mother. Lisa Owens' debut novel read by Emily Bruni.
04	20160505	Claire's mother is still not speaking to her, despite her father's best efforts to bring the two together. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways. Read by Emily Bruni. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016. As the rift with her mum deepens, Claire spends her first Christmas away from the family. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.
05	20160506	No closer to finding her true vocation, Claire spends a weekend with Luke and his parents. What could go wrong? Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways. Read by Emily Bruni. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016 Claire spends a disastrous weekend with Luke and his parents. Debut novel by Lisa Owens. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.
06	20160509	Claire discovers why she should have had the buddleia removed: cracks are appearing in the flat, seeming to match those in her relationship with Luke. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways. Continued by Emily Bruni. Claire Flannery has quit her marketing job in order to search for her true vocation. But months have passed and she's no closer to understanding what she wants to do with her life. It doesn't help that Luke, her long-term partner, is passionate about his job, which also happens to be one of the worthiest in the world... he's training to be a brain surgeon. In addition, she's fallen out badly with her mother - who refuses to accept Claire's revelation that her grandfather exposed himself to her with she was little. It hadn't seemed like a big deal to Claire at the time, but her mother's reaction has left her hurt and reeling. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016 Lisa Owens' generation-defining comic debut novel, read by Emily Bruni. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.
07	20160510	Months after quitting her marketing job to search for her true vocation, Claire's relentless prevarication is starting to test the patience of her partner, Luke. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways. Read by Emily Bruni. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016 Luke begins to lose patience with Claire's never-ending job search. Lisa Owens' debut. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.
08	20160511	Claire receivies a text from her mother, asking for a meeting to discuss Claire's revelations about her grandfather. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways. Read by Emily Bruni. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016 Claire's mother agrees to a meeting, but instead of healing, the rift between them widens. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.
09	20160512	Claire makes a shocking discovery about Luke, leading her to cast doubt on their relationship. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways. Read by Emily Bruni. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016. Claire learns something shocking about Luke, that throws doubt upon their relationship. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.
10	20160513	A family crisis brings Claire and her mother together, leading her to realise what she needs to do to resolve her search for her vocation. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting thirtysomething Claire Flannery's life as it unravels in minute and spectacular ways. Concluded by Emily Bruni. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016. Final episode of Lisa Owens' generation-defining comic debut novel, read by Emily Bruni. Lisa Owens' comic debut, depicting a life unravelling in minute and spectacular ways.