Desperate times call for desperate measures. And in Deb Olin Unferth’s brilliant, distracting, spiky novel Barn 8 times are pretty desperate for a cast of dysfunctional characters.

It looks a bit like a heist caper. The target: A million chickens.

But this isn’t a simple let’s-steal-a-bunch-of-chickens story. It is about damaged characters trying to do something magnificent; about people you might not want to invite over to supper – but who you desperately want to succeed; about sacrifice and love and getting along and why we do things we know we shouldn’t.

From the opening, when a young woman makes a mistake with massive ramifications, Barn 8 turns on misjudgements and reversals and misfortune and most especially on dedication and commitment.

Don’t read this book just because you care about chickens (although it is true that you won’t look at hens in the yard - or chicken on your plate! - the same way again). Here in the UK our food-rearing systems try to protect animals from the worst American-style horrors, and we are grateful for it.

No. Read this book because it is beguiling, hard-headed, has a big heart, and features a character named Bwwaauk. Read it because you can marvel at Deb Olin Unferth’s skill with plot and with her sure hand at leaping between past and present and future; at changing tone and rhythm and tense without sacrificing forward momentum; at her ability to alter the narrative even as the pages turn, so that the book you think you’re reading isn’t the book you’ve read.

We loved this book. We want you to read it. So we’ve hand-set and printed a limited edition bookmark that we’ll give with each copy. And we’ve made a deal with the publisher, allowing us to offer a special price - instead of £12.99, we can provide this wonderful, mad, thought-provoking book for £10 (while supplied last).