Small Hours cover art

Small Hours

the spellbinding new novel from the author of ISAAC AND THE EGG

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About this listen

 'Powerful' JOANNA GLEN
'Beautiful' KATE SAWYER
'A triumph' JENNIE GODFREY

The eagerly awaited new novel from Bobby Palmer, author of the critically acclaimed debut Isaac and the Egg.

If you stood before sunrise in this wild old place, looking through the trees into the garden, here's what you'd see:

A father and son, a fox standing between them.

Jack, home for the first time in years, still determined to be the opposite of his father.

Gerry, who would rather talk to animals than the angry man back under his roof.

Everything that follows is because of the fox, and because Jack's mother is missing. It spans generations of big dreams and lost time, unexpected connections and things falling apart, great wide worlds and the moments that define us.

If you met them in the small hours, you'd begin to piece together their story.

PRAISE FOR ISAAC AND THE EGG

'Truly one of the most beautiful stories you will ever read' Joanna Cannon

'Unique, tender and funny' Pandora Sykes

'A future classic' Clare Mackintosh

'Like nothing I've ever read before' Stylist

'An arresting debut novel about grief in the most wonderfully oblique way' Reverend Richard Coles

'Just magic' Kate Sawyer

'Quirky and raw' Grazia

(P)2024 Headline Publishing Group Ltd©2024 Bobby Palmer Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Fantasy Magic

Critic reviews

A powerful story of losing ourselves and each other - and how the natural world can find us and put us back together again (Joanna Glen)
I devoured this in forty-eight hours, it being about my very favourite reading topic: dysfunctional families and the many ways in which they can both fracture and heal. Its connection to the natural world makes this extra-special and almost poetic. A triumph (Jennie Godfrey)
Lyrical and evocative, Small Hours is a book like no other, a beautiful testament to the importance of family and what it's truly like to be human (Awais Khan)
All stars
Most relevant
I loved the story. It was well written and well read. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I liked the way that animals were tied into the story line. It made the story really come alive. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone.

A story of how a family comes together again

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So many twists and turns as the story progressed. I enjoyed learning a little about foxes and owls and trees … I loved it!

Review

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This made me cry. So beautiful and a very good at relating to modern family life. Love it

Beautifully Written

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I enjoyed Bobbys last book more than this although the narrator brought it to life

The Narration

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It feels like a deeply personal book, and we’ve had dementia in our family twice, but it felt like it was standing still for the whole book. I loved Isaac and the Egg though so will try another BP book, I’m sure. I think I’m just not sensitive enough for this book?

Clearly a very thoughtful piece by a very good writer. But just not for me.

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