Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers.
Published 9th July by W & N.
Read July 2020.

South East London, 1957: Jean Swinney is a reporter for a local London paper, normally consigned to the kind of article that revolves around gardening and handy household tips.

Jean's life has shrunk over the years, and now, nearing forty, she finds herself passing her time between her comfortable niche at the paper, and looking after her difficult, elderly mother, with very little in the way of pleasure to brighten her days.

When a young woman contacts the paper to say that she believes her daughter to be the result of a virgin birth, it falls to Jean to take on the story of Gretchen and her daughter Margaret, and discover whether the story could possibly be true.

But once Jean meets the Tilburys - Gretchen, Margaret, and Gretchen's husband Howard - her life and happiness become strangely intertwined with theirs. She makes a friend in Gretchen, becomes an aunt figure to the endearing Margaret, and finds herself falling for the gentle wit and charm of Howard - and if she is not mistaken, Gretchen seems to be pushing her and Howard together.

Jean suddenly finds her life opening up in a way she did not expect, but inevitably, there is a price to pay for her new found happiness, and it will be a devastating one.

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 Small Pleasures is the most gorgeous book, and I fell in love with it from only a few pages in.

Jean Swinney makes for a sympathetic character. She feels that her life has become very small indeed, and nearing forty, her disappointed love life has left her still living at home with her frail and demanding, elderly mother, with very little prospect of escape. She finds her pleasures where she can - a moment's peace from her mother, a cigarette, handling a small luxury that she has tucked away in the drawers of her dressing table (even if she never intends to use it) - these are the tiny moments of enjoyment she allows herself. She cannot even begin to imagine anything more, and to wish for it would be asking for bitterness to overwhelm her.

But when Jean meets the Tilburys, something shifts inside her. Jean gets a glimpse of the comforts she has not allowed herself to desire - a well-maintained and cosy home, someone to love and care for her, even motherhood - and her fate becomes inextricably entwined with these people who were strangers not so long ago.

It soon becomes clear that Gretchen and Howard's marriage is not all it appears, and Jean and Howard are drawn to each other - seemingly with Gretchen's blessing, as she repeatedly throws them together. Love blossoms and with it comes tragic consequences.

This book is beautifully written by Clare Chambers and draws you in from the very first page, to the nostalgic feel of 1950s suburban London. Jean's repressed longings and frustrations are palpable, and you yearn for her to be able to break out of her self-imposed exile from joy. So when she gets the chance to grab the chance of happiness, the will she/won't she have a happy ending is almost unbearable. I am wary of giving spoilers here, because the suspense of simmering passions held in check between Jean and Howard, their tenderness and genuine love for each other, is divine - but be assured, this book will get you in all the feels.

However, this is not just a love story, because there is a pretty big mystery element too. Gretchen's story of virgin birth is a peculiar one and Jean has to dig deep to find out the truth behind Margaret's conception. There is almost an Agatha Christie feel to this part of the story, as the discovery of the truth revolves so much around the stories of the people who knew Gretchen at the time - those who were supposed to be caring for her, her friends and even loved ones - and Jean certainly has to use her little grey cells to put all the pieces together and the weight of the truth hangs very heavy on her.

This is so much a story about people and relationships, repression and longing for fulfillment, although the time period and suburban setting really add to the mix. Jean has been deeply affected by her past, but we get little glimpse of the person she used to be that show us she was not always the lonely figure we meet at the beginning of the book. It is clear from things Jean lets slip to Howard that she is a woman of great determination, and she has experienced freedoms, especially during the war years. Jean's life has been reduced by circumstance, as well as her desire to live a closed off existence, and her home in claustrophobic suburbia with her cold and irascible mother only highlights her feelings of disillusionment.

By the way, I really enjoyed that this book was set in suburban south East London, as I was born in Beckenham and recognised many of the places named in this book - albeit from a 1970s perspective. For me, this really added to the nostalgic charm that Clare Chambers to skillfully weaves.

This is an absolute corker of a book and one that has haunted me since finishing it, as it is quietly devastating - and there is so much to think about and discuss from this novel (a perfect book club book, actually). But, it is not without its wit and wry humour - and the excited glee with which Jean's editor encourages her to get a scoop about a virgin birth story in the run up to Christmas is particularly funny.

 This is one of my favourite reads this summer and I have no doubt that more of Clare Chambers' books will be finding their place in my to be read pile soon.

Small Pleasures is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

From the cover of the book:

1957, south-east suburbs of London.
Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper, disappointed in love and - on the brink of forty - living a limited existence with her truculent mother.

When a young Swiss 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.

But the more she investigates, the more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys: Gretchen herself, her husband Howard - with his dry wit and gentle disposition - and her charming daughter Margaret.

But they are the subject of the story Jean is researching for the newspaper, a story that increasingly seems to be causing dark ripples across all their lives. And yet Jean cannot bring herself to discard the chance of finally having a taste of happiness.

But there will be a price to pay - and it will be unbearable.