Small Pleasures
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Karen Cass
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By:
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Clare Chambers
About this listen
In the best tradition of Tessa Hadley, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Ann Patchett - an astonishing, keenly observed period piece about an ordinary British woman in the 1950s whose dutiful life takes a sudden turn into a pitched battle between propriety and unexpected passion.
"With wit and dry humor...quietly affecting in unexpected ways. Chambers' language is beautiful, achieving what only the most skilled writers can: big pleasure wrought from small details." (The New York Times)
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction
1957: Jean Swinney is a feature writer on 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, who rarely leaves the house. 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 empty social 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 literary tour-de-force in the style of The Remains of the Day, about conflict between personal fulfillment and duty; a novel that celebrates the beauty and potential for joy in all things plain and unfashionable.
©2021 Clare Chambers (P)2021 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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It's the end of the roaring twenties, and the exuberant and Honourable Phryne Fisher is dancing and gaming with gay abandon. But she becomes bored with London and the endless round of parties. In search of excitement, she sets her sights on a spot of detective work in Melbourne, Australia. And so mystery and the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse, appear in her life. From then on it's all cocaine and communism until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
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A series that just gets better
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 02-01-11
By: Kerry Greenwood
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The Nanny
- A Novel
- By: Gilly Macmillan
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett, Patience Tomlinson, Ben Eliot
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In this compulsively listenable tale of secrets, lies, and deception, Gilly Macmillan explores the darkest impulses and desires of the human heart. Diabolically clever, The Nanny reminds us that sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.
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Great gripping story!
- By Jordan Zenzel on 10-01-19
By: Gilly Macmillan
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Fraud
- By: Anita Brookner
- Narrated by: Anna Massey
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
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Story
When Anna Durrant is reported missing her friends seem unconcerned at her disappearance. After all, her life has been one of concealment. For years Anna submitted to the protective dependence of her mother, and even after Amy Durrant’s death she simply conformed to the expectations of others. Increasingly, Anna feels herself trapped by these expectations.
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Top Shelf Brookner
- By David P on 09-15-15
By: Anita Brookner
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Death at Greenway
- A Novel
- By: Lori Rader-Day
- Narrated by: Moira Quirk
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
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From the award-winning author of The Day I Died and The Lucky One, a captivating suspense novel about nurses during World War II who come to Agatha Christie’s holiday estate to care for evacuated children, but when a body is discovered nearby, the idyllic setting becomes host to a deadly mystery.
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Wonderful story & characters that kept me company
- By Kim Fountain on 10-24-21
By: Lori Rader-Day
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The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir
- By: Lesley Allen
- Narrated by: Bríd Brennan
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Biddy Weir is a quirky girl. Abandoned by her mother as a baby, and with a father who's not quite equipped for the challenges of modern parenting, Biddy lives in her own little world, happy to pass her time painting by the sea and watching the birds go by. That is, until she meets Alison Flemming. Because there are a few things about Biddy that aren't normal, you see. And Alison isn't afraid to point them out to the world. All of a sudden, Biddy's quiet life is thrown into turmoil. If only there was someone to convince her that, actually, everyone's a little bit weird....
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The Lonely Life Of Biddy Weir
- By George Criticos on 08-10-20
By: Lesley Allen
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The Orphan Sisters
- By: Shirley Dickson
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 12 hrs
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A heartbreaking, enthralling and utterly unforgettable World War 2 story of two young sisters cruelly abandoned by their mother at an orphanage. 1929: four-year-old Etty and eight-year-old Dorothy are abandoned at Blakely Hall orphanage by their mother, never to see her again. With no other family to speak of, the sisters worship their beloved mam - and they are confused and heartbroken to be deserted by her when they need her the most.
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Excellent story. PG-13+
- By Melissa L S on 09-18-19
By: Shirley Dickson
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Queen of the Mersey
- By: Maureen Lee
- Narrated by: Maggie Ollerenshaw
- Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins
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Queenie is only 14 and has been deserted by her mother. Set in Liverpool and Wales at the outbreak of World War II, this story explores themes of female friendship and betrayal from the perspective of a group of women of widely different ages.
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Entertaining
- By W on 05-27-08
By: Maureen Lee
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“𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”
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The three Blue sisters are exceptional—and exceptionally different. Avery, the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer, lives with her wife in London; Bonnie, a former boxer, works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris while trying to outrun her hard-partying ways. They also had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death left the family reeling. A year later, as they each navigate grief, addiction and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.
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Love Coco Mellors, HATED the narration
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Behind the Scenes at the Museum
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Ruby Lennox begins narrating her life at the moment of conception, and from there takes us on a whirlwind tour of the 20th century as seen through the eyes of an English girl determined to learn about her family and its secrets.
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Another Kate Atkinson multi-generational story
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Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she’s had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad—Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him—is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny. But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming.
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A thrilling joy from start to finish
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A Certain Hunger
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Eat Pray Love meets American Psycho in a seductive and sinister debut literary thriller. Food critic Dorothy Daniels indulges in her homicidal urges by murdering her lovers and devouring their organs in this intense, visceral, and lushly told tale of food, sex, power, and the pursuit of a very particular taste set between New York and Italy. Please Note: A Certain Hunger contains adult language and depictions of violence. Discretion is advised.
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Ugh.
- By Kimberly on 02-03-20
What listeners say about Small Pleasures
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Chelsea Jasper
- 11-15-22
Great writing, great characters but..
The train incident didn’t need to be tied into the virgin birth story. I was enjoying this story so much, but then was left disheartened. Sometimes a sad ending makes sense, but this one just felt cruel and unnecessary. I suppose it was connecting two incidents in history that were close together in the same locale - still unnecessary.
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- Tamara Wright
- 08-29-24
Wonderful story telling and fabulous narration
A great story firmly rooted in the details of every day people and their lives. Poignant, gentle touch of humor and full of grace and human foibles
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- bethie
- 11-26-21
Fantastic captivating story …
Absolutely loved this book…such an original plot and the narrator really bought the characters to life. The descriptions of life in London in the 1950s with all the domestic details are super interesting too. Really worth a listen.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 10-23-21
Very unique!I
I loved this book! I loved her writing and the narrator was very good. I listened every chance I had!
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4 people found this helpful
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- LaLa
- 02-23-22
Thoroughly enjoyable story and performance
it started out a bit slow but once you get into the meat of the story it was interesting and entertaining.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Midwestern
- 03-26-22
Draws you in
I love the cover of the book, it draws you in slowly. First you notice the pleasing rococo color palette (of Boucher and Fragonard) and how more and more you notice the beautiful simplicity of wild roses, and the celadon leaves and stem. The book draws you in the same way. First you notice the gentle and simple civility of the post-war Britain and then you notice more and more the beautiful intricacy of the heart that beats inside each human body, the secret hopes of deep passions that blow them one direction or another.
The beginning of the book offers a foreboding warning, but you sail along with the characters seeking the answer to the mystery, knowing it might bring happiness or pain. It doesn't matter because of the Buddhist truism "that which you are seeking is causing you to seek". We are each pulled by our desires; and it doesn't matter where it leads us or even if it will bring tragedy and disappointment because if the journey is rewarding, that is pleasurable reward enough.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Pat Brett
- 12-04-21
Slowly drew me in.....
This was a surprisingly beautiful story that drew me in slowly and seduced me into loving it..... the character development was excellent, the storyline grew slowly and steadily and mysteriously, and the narration was wonderful..... however, I think the author took a short cut to an ending that was abrupt and seemed inconsistent with the overall style of the book. I would have given it 5 stars but for the ending which seemed like a cheap way out.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Robert M Wilcox
- 08-16-22
Beautifully written
This is a beautifully written story. The author created a sympathy for each character I truly appreciated.
I suggest ending before last chapter and writing your own ending.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Regina
- 05-20-22
Interesting story
I am glad I didn’t let complaints about the ending stop me from buying this book. There is some complexity to the characters that makes it much more interesting than what it seems some people were expecting. I prefer this over neat and tidy.
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- Kate
- 09-08-22
Loved this story… except the ending
I absolutely loved this story, it was going to be on my top list for the year. I still think the characters are really well written and it’s a beautiful commentary on how complex and untidy life can be… that ending though. I don’t want to spoil anything but it’s so abrupt and really leaves you feeling a bit disappointed. So much feels unfinished and as a reader you feel a bit jilted. But overall the story is so good.
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