Small pleasures : a novel / Clare Chambers.
In the best tradition of Ann Patchett, Kazuo Ishiguro and Tessa Hadley - an astonishing, keenly observed story of an ordinary British woman in the 1950s whose dutiful life takes a wholly unexpected turn into a struggle between propriety and passion. 1957: Jean Swinney is a features editor at a local paper in the southeast suburbs of London. Clever but with limited career opportunities and on the brink of forty, Jean lives a dreary existence that includes caring for her demanding widowed mother. It's a small life with little joy and no likelihood of escape. That all changes when a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth. Jean seizes onto the bizarre story and sets out to discover whether Gretchen is a miracle or a fraud. But the more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys, including Gretchen's gentle and thoughtful husband, Howard, who mostly believes his wife, and their quirky and charming daughter, Margaret, who becomes a sort of surrogate child for Jean. Gretchen, too, becomes a much-needed friend in an otherwise lonely life. Jean cannot bring herself to discard what seems like her one chance at happiness, even as the story that she is researching starts to send dark ripples across all their lives...with unimaginable consequences. Both a mystery and a love story, Small Pleasures is a captivating look at the conflict between personal fulfilment and duty; a novel that celebrates the beauty and potential for joy in all things plain and unfashionable. -- Provided by bookflap.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780063094727
- ISBN: 006309472X
- Physical Description: 345 pages ; 24 cm
- Edition: First U.S. edition.
- Publisher: New York, NY : Custom House, [2021]
- Copyright: ©2021
Content descriptions
General Note: | "Originally published in the United Kingdom in 2020 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson"--title page verso. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Women journalists > Fiction. Parthenogenesis > Fiction. Mothers and daughters > Fiction. Interpersonal relations > Fiction. England > Social life and customs > 20th century > Fiction. |
Genre: | Historical fiction. Domestic fiction. Novels. |
Available copies
- 17 of 18 copies available at SPARK Libraries.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 18 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abington Community Library | FICTION CHAMBER (Text) | 50687011749044 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Albright Memorial Library | FICTION CHAMBER (Text) | 50686016103892 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Altoona Area Public Library | F CHA (Text) | 33240004952639 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Dillsburg Area Public Library | Adults CHA Fiction (Text) | 34001001401866 | Adult Area | Available | - |
Emmaus Public Library | FIC CHAMBERS, CLARE (Text) | 36446002049834 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Exeter Community Library | CHA (Text) | 33249025310446 | Fiction | Available | - |
Indian Valley Public Library | Fiction Chambers (Text) | 39427103656708 | Fiction Room: Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Lower Macungie Library | FIC CHA (Text) | 33400001530347 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Martin Library | Adults CHA Fiction (Text) | 33454005839725 | Reading Room Balcony | Available | - |
Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity | FIC CHA SMA 2021 (Text) | 31001101363027 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
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