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Small Pleasures

Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction

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Small Pleasures

By: Clare Chambers
Narrated by: Karen Cass
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LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
A BBC 2 'BETWEEN THE COVERS' BOOK CLUB PICK

'Wonderful' RICHARD OSMAN
'Perfect' INDIA KNIGHT
'Beautiful' JESSIE BURTON
'Witty and sharp' DAVID NICHOLLS

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.

'Gorgeous . . . I could not recommend it more' PANDORA SYKES
'Remarkable . . . Small Pleasures is no small pleasure' THE TIMES
'Irresistible . . . wry, perceptive and quietly devastating' MAIL ON SUNDAY Family Life Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Women's Fiction Mystery Detective Heartfelt Suspense
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Critic reviews

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.
Perfect.
Small lives, love and loneliness, wit and despair all wrapped in an unexpected mystery and placed in a perfectly-realised 50s setting. Effortless to read, but every sentence lingers in the mind.
This is one of the most tender, beautiful books I have ever read. Please, please order it now for July. I honestly don't want you to be without it. It is exquisite.
I've had about five people recommend this to me, which is quite rare... It's a novel about the last throw of the dice, the last chance perhaps of finding a life of happiness when you've had a struggle. The writing is beautiful. This is also the first novel Chambers has written for 10 years, which I find really inspiring. I think there's this discourse in our culture that you've got to have everything done in your first book ... But Chambers has been away for 10 years and she's come back with this absolute humdinger. It's just so nice to read a book by someone who's so confident with their talent. I'm glad she's having this renaissance.
Quietly remarkable... Small Pleasures is no small pleasure. (Andrew Billen)
Small Pleasures is an almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish. Written in prose that is clipped as closely as suburban hedges, this is a book about seemingly mild people concealing turbulent feelings... one of the great strengths of the book is its tender, atmospheric descriptions of England: wet leaves, misted windows, the "melancholy sense of approaching dusk". Small Pleasures succeeds in creating one of those enclosed fictional worlds that, however desolate, has its own rules, its own flavour and its own charm. (Johanna Thomas-Corr)
There's compassion and quiet humour to be found in this tale of a putative virgin birth in postwar suburban London...
Chambers's eye for drab, undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity. (Alfred Hickling)
An irresistible novel - wry, perceptive and quietly devastating. (Hephzibah Anderson)
Small Pleasures is no twee romance, but a quietly compelling novel of duty and desire. (Francesca Carington)
Wonderful.
A wonderful novel. I loved it.
Miraculous.
A beautiful and moving read set in 1950s suburbia that'll be on bookseller tables across the land this summer (Francesca Brown)
This is a dazzling, exquisitely written story of how happiness and even love can find us when we least expect it. (Sarra Manning)
There are small pleasures aplenty in Clare Chambers' quietly observed, 1950s-set story . . . Chambers' novel combines a startling storyline with an engagingly nuanced portrait of post-war suburban femininity (Claire Allfree)
A stunning novel to steal your heart.
All stars
Most relevant
i really enjoyed this book. it was so lovely reading of a gentler age and people with values. This is my first book by this author and it definitely won't be my last.

loved it

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Such a relief to find a well written book with an intriguing story. I was all set to read more books by this author, but felt really let down by the ending. The ending meant that the issues to be faced could never be resolved. It would have been interesting to see how the three main characters coped with their situation in the longer term.

intricate and beguiling story betrayed by ending

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At the beginning, purely from the narration, I questioned whether I could finish this audiobook. The intonation at the end of sentences is so odd. It was most bothersome in the first quarter of the book, either that or I stopped noticing, but I couldnt help listening to the lovely prose and how I wish I could hear it said in the correct way rather than the way Karen Cass says it.

The story itself is fairly engaging, and you do want to know what happens, which is always a good thing, but a lot of the story felt like filler. beautifully written though

Narration is disappointing

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A very good read. I loved it but was saddened by the ending! I live in the same area which helped me to see aspects of the action more vividly. Well written Clare Chambers.

A very good read

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This is one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Perfectly narrated, all the characters were easily distinguishable by the subtle tones of the narrator without being over the top or unrealistic. The story is beautifully real and has the uniqueness in a book of not over telling. I was so sorry when it ended ... but the ending was perfect. I will wait a while before my next listen so that this stays a little longer in my memory. Perfect!!!

Simply Beautiful

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