Key themes
- The relationship that builds through absence and letters
- Trauma, control and the relationship that undoes them
- The physical space of a shared flat as intimacy without meeting
About this book
Two strangers share one bed on opposite schedules and fall for each other by note; a charming high-concept romance.
Published in 2019, The Flatshare was O'Leary's debut and became an international bestseller. It was adapted into a television series. O'Leary writes consciously warm, feel-good fiction while also dealing with serious subjects like coercive control.
Discussion questions
- Tiffy and Leon share a flat without ever being there at the same time — they communicate through notes. How does O'Leary develop the relationship through this unusual constraint?
- Leon's storyline involves his brother's wrongful conviction. How does O'Leary integrate this serious strand with the romantic comedy — and does it change the novel's emotional register?
- Tiffy's relationship with Justin is slowly revealed as coercive and controlling. How does O'Leary show the psychology of this — and what does Tiffy's gradual recognition say about how coercive control works?
- The novel is very warm — consciously feel-good. Is there a tension between warmth and the darker subject matter — and does O'Leary navigate it?
- The Flatshare was O'Leary's debut. What does it do well — and what marks it as a first novel?
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