***Out now: Clare Chambers's new novel Shy Creatures*** 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 NICHOLLS1957, 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