I loved this book from page one up until I reached the last chapter. That last chapter ruined the book for me. While there’s a hint, before chapter one, that might have tipped me to what was coming, I didn’t see it because it was never mentioned again, and by the end of the book, I’d totally forgotten it. The ending completely broke my heart. I really dislike authors who do things like that, even if something similar might have happened in real life, especially when it happens to beloved characters.

Let’s focus on the good parts of the book, which is most of it. The writing is spectacular. The characters are great, fully developed, real. The author recreated a world in which the story took place, so real, I felt like I was right there walking, sitting beside the characters as their lives unfolded.

The writing is beautiful, at times exquisitely poetic. The author drew me in from page one and held on, even into that last chapter. I can’t fault her on anything other than how the book ends. It was cruel, even when based on a true event. Still, I recommend reading this book, just skip that last chapter and create your own ending, one that will leave you feeling happy, not like you just had a rug pulled out from under you.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. I thank them for their generosity, but it had no effect on this book. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

My only regret with Small Pleasures, is I picked the worst time in my life to start this amazing book! I started it the day before I started moving to a new place so I was only able to read little snippets at a time.
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers takes you back to the 1950's. Jean is an middle aged woman living with her aging mother and working as a reporter. A woman, Gretchen, contacts the paper Jean works for claiming she has had a "virgin birth". Jean takes on this story which leads to friendship and more life than Jean could ever imagine. After reading the Afterword, I was surprised to see that this story was based loosely on a woman in Kent who claimed the very same story as Gretchen.
This is the first book I have read by Clare Chambers and I would love to read other works by her. I will definitely be telling others about Small Pleasures and recommending it! Special thanks to Clare Chambers, NetGalley, William Morrow and Custom House publishing for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 5 stars

"Small Pleasures" by Clare Chambers is a story about how quickly and unexpectedly life can change.

"The journey into love was so effortless and graceful; the journey out such a long and labored climb." ~ Jean Swinney

It's 1957 in London's south-east suburbs where 39-year-old Jean Swinney lives with her mother. She's a feature writer with the North Kent Echo, a local newspaper. She's also unlucky at love and has what one might refer to as a liminal life. Day after day, all things in Jean's life remains the same.

Change may be in the air though. Gretchen Tilbury has written a letter to the editor of the North Kent Echo in response to a small article buried deep within the pages concerning parthenogenesis titled, "Men No Longer Needed for Reproduction!"

Gretchen claims her 10 year old daughter, Margaret to be born without the involvement of a man. The paper is interested in running a story about this and Jean, being the only woman at the table, is assigned with the challenge of investigating Gretchen's claim of a virgin birth.

The further the investigation progresses the deeper Jean becomes entwined in the lives of the Tilbury family. Her personal life begins to feel interesting and exciting, and Jean feels different and happier. She's changing!

But is Jean truly prepared for the relationships she's creating with Gretchen, Margaret and Gretchen's husband, Howard? Will she be able to cope with how these changes may play out? Good or bad?

I love the character of Jean! She's real and painfully human. She deeply cares for Gretchen and her family. She embraces them at the same time she embraces change. The humorous side of this character is my favorite but there seems to be pain lingering deep inside of her. This character has been written with such depth!

I enjoyed this story and can visualize these relationships taking place in Mid-Century-Anywhere. The writing is descriptive and visual, yet simple. I loved how the author's writing carried me through the backstories and then into the newness of each relationship.

I don't necessarily like how this story ends but isn't that the way of life? $hit happens!

I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Custom House, and author Clare Chambers for a free ARC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

Loved the writing, the turns of phrase, the subtle humor, the evocation of the era. Characters were well drawn and believable, though the whole premise of a virgin birth made this a slow start for me. Nevertheless, the slow build of the relationships won me over. But, and it’s a BIG but, the ending? Really? I won’t go into details, but it just didn’t work for me. Yes, it was there all along and any other ending would have taken a few more chapters to sort out. I could also argue it was the perfect ending, just needed a bit more of how the characters reacted to that final event?

A single journalist in post WWII England researches for a story of divine intervention while also taking care of her increasingly dependent mother. Clare Chambers brings together two fascinating historical events for this period novel, her words painting a picture of what life after the war was like in Kent, England. If you're into a very believable historical fiction, this book is for you.

This book was so good- I absolutely could not put it down. Such an interesting concept- set in the 1950s, a woman insists she had a virgin birth, so a local female reporter, Jean, sets out to investigate the claims and inadvertently inserts herself into the lives of this family. So many twists and turns in this story, it was so well-written that I could not put the book down.

This book starts off sort of slowly and it took me a while to warm up to it. Jean is an anomaly for her time, a working woman who works in a newspaper office, a mostly male enclave. She also has the chore of taking care of her mother who is not an invalid, but is a woman who likes to complain and in general makes Jean's life miserable.
Then Jean meets a young woman, Gretchen, who claims to have given birth without "knowing" a man. Jean proposes to her editor that she interrogate this claim and write a story for the paper. Thus begins Jean's relationship with Gretchen, her daughter Margaret, and Gretchen's husband, Howard. And a love story unfolds between Jean and Howard.
While not initially smitten with this story, I loved the relationship between Jean and Howard, which Chambers developed with care and compassion.
I will leave you with a few cliff hangers:
Can Jean prove that Gretchen had a virgin birth?
What happens between Howard and Jean, since he is already married and a very honorable man?
What can Jean do about her mother?

It's worth reading to find out.

Jean Swinney has a life when she is at work as a Features Editor and Columnist for The Echo. When she arrives at home, her life is squashed as she takes care of her Mom and virtually never leaves the house. Our story commences in June, 1957, when Jean brings the idea of researching whether Gretchen Tilburry could have had a Virgin Birth. Editor, Roy Drake ,allows her to pursue this story. (I did think twice about continuing to read at this point.).

Chambers does a great job developing Jean’s character. The story does move slowly at times. It is a good look at women’s roles in the 1950’s. Lots of characters to follow and the exploration as to what went on at St. Cecelia’s. I thought the ending came too quickly and I still have not decided what I think about it. I do look forward to reading another book by Clare Chambers. My thanks to William Morrow Custom House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

3.5 stars

Title: Small Pleasures
Author: Clare Chambers
Available now

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

This book takes place in the 1950’s and tells the story of Jean, a journalist, that has taken on the unbelievable story of Gretchen, who claims her daughter Margaret was born via parthenogenesis when she was a patient at St. Cecilia’s convalescent home. Jean finds Gretchen very believable and starts to investigate her claims that her child was born without any help from a man. In doing so, shebecomes very close to her family, including Gretchen’s husband, Howard.

I was all into this book and it’s beautiful prose and love story, despite it being a bit of a slow burn. That is until there are a couple of surprises that I won’t reveal, that felt kind of awkward interspersed within the pages of a beautiful book. Also, the ending was a bit of a shock, but I actually liked it and the way it came full circle.

I gave it 3.5 stars because the writing was so well done. I also really enjoyed reading about the authors research into a real claim of human parthenogenesis. I was fascinated that she said a case had been mentioned in a reputable medical journal back in the 1950s. As a physician in real life, i had to find it. I was unable to access the full report, but indeed it exists and there are many genetic hypotheses that some things we see in medicine are actually precursors to our potential future parthenogenesis capabilities as humans. One day perhaps we won’t need a man to reproduce??? That’s some evolution craziness right there. 😮

“Small Pleasures,” by Clare Chambers, Custom House, 352 pages, Oct. 12, 2021.

It is 1957. Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper, The North Kent Echo, in the southeast suburbs of London. She is almost 40 and has limited career opportunities. Jean cares for her demanding widowed mother, who rarely leaves the house.

Then a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the newspaper to claim that her daughter, Margaret, now 10, is the result of a virgin birth. Jean seizes onto the bizarre story. Jean doesn’t believe her, but she is curious as to why Gretchen thinks this is true.

Gretchen, who isn’t religious, was 19 when she became pregnant. She was bedridden in a clinic with severe rheumatoid arthritis. The clinic only employed nuns and nursing sisters. There were no male patients. Gretchen says she wants someone to prove what she has always known.

Physicians at Charing Cross Hospital are willing to conduct what tests they can. The more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes intertwined with that of the Tilburys, including Gretchen’s husband, Howard, who mostly believes his wife. Jean starts tracking down Gretchen’s friends and staff from the clinic.

“Small Pleasures” was a best-seller in Britain where it was on the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction long list. It is well-written and works on two levels: the story behind Gretchen’s claim and the story of Jean’s life. Everyone has hidden secrets. You’ll become very invested in the characters. The ending is shocking.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This was quite a slow and quiet book. The characters come together because of a woman’s claim that her child is the product of a virgin birth. It’s 1957 Britain and a news woman decides to pursue the story. She becomes entangled with the family along the way and becomes close to the precocious daughter, mother and father.

I liked parts of this book but also found parts quite dull. And there’s quite a shock at the very end I’m not entirely sure was necessary.

3.5 stars.

This was a really interesting concept - I couldn’t figure out until the end! I liked the story but it was a little slow and started to drag towards the end.

Small Pleasures is a story that eats at your soul. It makes you question science, religion, social constructs, and fate. In a quest to investigate a claim of virgin birth, a journalist finds friendship, love, and eventually horrific truth. As a middle aged spinster myself, I couldn't help but fall in love with Jean Swinney and her 1950s British grit. Maybe one day I'll find my own Howard... I just hope for a happier ending. I haven't wept so much at an ending since watching "Remember Me"... I am wrecked. Thank you NetGalley and Custom House for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This book was so clever and different from anything I have read recently The story revolves around a journalist who comes to know of a woman who professes to have given birth to a child without the usual help from a man. A virgin birth. The child is a charming young girl and a replica of her. Mother. Jean, the journalist is lonely and lives with her mother, who can be difficult to say the least. This story, if proven,, could change her dreary life. What does occur is surprising and will keep the reader involved ion the story until the very last surprise at the end of the book. The characters in this book jump off the page and the reader is engaged with each one if them..with real feelings about how this story should end up. A terrific read and recommended highly.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this early read! Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers is a gem of a book. It is set in 1957 England. Jean Swinney is a middle-aged woman, working as a reporter for a small town newspaper, living with her elderly mother, being dutiful and trying to appreciate the small pleasures that a quiet life can bring. Her paper runs a story about parthenogenesis, or reproduction without fertilization, in animals like frogs. They receive a letter from a woman named Gretchen Tilbury, stating that her daughter was born without the involvement of a man – in other words, a virgin birth. Jean is tasked with the story, and she heads out to meet Gretchen and her family. Jean finds Gretchen very believable – she says she was living in a convalescence home due to a case of rheumatoid arthritis, on a ward with three other girls, under the careful watch of nurses and nuns, with no chance to become pregnant. Jean begins to investigate, and the facts seems to check out. She gets the doctor from the original story interested, and they begin a series of medical tests to detect signs of parthenogenesis. Meanwhile, Jean becomes more involved with the Tilbury family – becoming friends with Gretchen, taking the daughter Margaret on outings, and slowly falling in love with Gretchen’s husband Howard.

The story is part mystery – Is Gretchen telling the truth? Why has she come forward, at the risk of publicity, to tell her story now? Is her daughter truly a miracle? - and part love story – What makes a marriage? How do you choose between duty and desire? At what cost do you follow your heart? The answers for Jean and Gretchen lead to some unexpected places, and none of them will be the same again. The ending packs a punch - or at least it did for me. This book was published earlier this year in the UK and has made several “Best Of” lists. IT may make mine as well!

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book - I certainly didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. The writing was good and the story was intriguing but something about it just didn't click with me. I was disappointed in the ending and would have have liked more closure for Jean and even Gretchen and Margaret. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I held onto this review for a couple of days. I couldn’t decide how many stars to give. The story for almost it’s entirety is really quite interesting and unexpected. Small Pleasures is just that, along with somewhat of a puzzle to solve along the way. It’s amazing what relationships, good and bad, have on one’s life. Again those small pleasures. I read the pages as quickly as I could putting off things I knew I should be doing, but just as a chapter ended with an interesting remark I felt compelled to keep going. Or as a character truly angered me with their selfishness I needed to continue reading because i really needed to know the outcome of those actions. And then I got to the end. Really?!?!?! For such a lovely book the ending was just so unnecessary and mean.

Overall, an enjoyable story depicting life for an unmarried woman working for a newspaper in the 1950's in a London suburb. While investigating the claim of a virgin birth, her life intertwines with the family she is investigating. It was an interesting plot, although the ending was rather disappointing.

I really enjoyed this historical/literary novel. The characters rang true and while the story was a quiet one, I had a hard time putting it down. The virgin storyline resolution was predictable but the author did a good job stringing out the resolution. Loved all of the characters.