Small Pleasures
Author(s): Clare Chambers
1957, the suburbs of South East London. Jean Swinney is a journalist on a local paper, trapped in a life of duty and disappointment from which there is no likelihood of escape.
When a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud.
As the investigation turns her quiet life inside out, Jean is suddenly given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and - possibly - happiness.
But there will, inevitably, be a price to pay.
2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist
Product Information
BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, EVENING STANDARD, DAILY EXPRESS, METRO, SPECTATOR, RED MAGAZINE AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
'A WORD-OF-MOUTH HIT' Evening Standard
'A very fine book... It's witty and sharp and reads like something by Barbara Pym or Anita Brookner, without ever feeling like a pastiche'
David Nicholls
'Perfect'
India Knight
'Beautiful'
Jessie Burton
'Wonderful'
Richard Osman
'Miraculous'
Tracy Chevalier
'A wonderful novel. I loved it'
Nina Stibbe
'Effortless to read, but every sentence lingers in the mind'
Lissa Evans
'This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I honestly don't want you to be without it'
Lucy Mangan
'Gorgeous... If you're looking for something escapist and bittersweet, I could not recommend more' --Pandora Sykes
'Remarkable... Small Pleasures is no small pleasure'The Times
'An irresistible novel - wry, perceptive and quietly devastating' --Mail on Sunday
'Chambers' eye for undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity' --Guardian
'An almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish' --The Sunday Times
Longlisted Women's Prize Fiction 2021
General Fields
- :
- : Orion Publishing Group, Limited
- : Weidenfeld & Nicolson
- : 0.3
- : 31 December 2020
- : {"length"=>["19.8"], "width"=>["12.9"], "units"=>["Centimeters"]}
- : books
Special Fields
- : Clare Chambers
- : FA
- : 352
- : English
- : 2105
- : Paperback