Small Bomb At Dimperley

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover the heartwarming, witty, and poignant new historical novel about changing (sometimes reluctantly) with the times set in the aftermath of WW2, perfect for fans of Maggie O'Farrell and Rachel Joyce.

It's 1945, and Corporal Valentine Vere-Thissett, aged 23, is on his way home.

But ‘home’ is Dimperley, built in the 1500s, vast and dilapidated, up to its eaves in debt and half-full of fly-blown taxidermy and dependent relatives, the latter clinging to a way of life that has gone forever.

And worst of all - following the death of his heroic older brother - Valentine is now Sir Valentine, and is responsible for the whole bloody place. To Valentine, it’s a millstone; to Zena Baxter, who has never really had a home before being evacuated there with her small daughter, it’s a place of wonder and sentiment, somewhere that she can’t bear to leave.

But Zena has been living with a secret, and the end of the war means she has to face a reckoning of her own…

Funny, sharp and touching, Small Bomb at Dimperley is both a love story and a bittersweet portrait of an era of profound loss, and renewal.

'Generous, touching and romantic' Clare Chambers

'Incredibly assured and affecting... the perfect novel to be read in such dark times’ Graham Norton

'Wodehouse meets Barbara Pym… Funny, poignant, perfect' Daisy Goodwin

©2024 Lissa Evans (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

An irresistible novel which combines a crumbling once-grand house, bumbling aristos clinging to the pre-war past, and the magnificent Zena Baxter, one of my all-time favourite heroines. This is Lissa Evans at the peak of her mighty powers
India Knight
Funny poignant, perfect period detail…it’s as if Barbara Pym and Evelyn Waugh had a secret love-child…Heaven!
Daisy Goodwin
A glorious read. I laughed many times rejoicing in the wit, cleverness and humanity
Elizabeth Buchan
This is better than Wodehouse, in my humble opinion, because it's believable as well as funny … Lissa Evans is a great comic writer and her portrait of an aristocratic family trying to cling to its privileges in the unforgiving aftermath of WW2 is all the funnier for being generous, touching and romantic rather than mean
Clare Chambers
I loved this. Brilliantly funny, moving and joyous. Also, there’s a perfect moment – when one character moves from liking someone to love
Catherine Johnson
Loaded with period detail, primed with characters you feel you’ve known for years, Small Bomb at Dimperley explodes comically, lovingly and very slightly wistfully into absolute delight. My best book (by a country mile) this year
Hilary McKay
Deeply enjoyable, lovable and poignant. I love Lissa Evans’ writing. Her characters are created with such affection and care it makes you wish you could step into the story and become one of them
Miranda France
I loved Small Bomb at Dimperley. From the first page I knew I wanted to spend time in this world, and when the time came, I didn’t want to leave it. The blend of funny and moving is notoriously elusive, but Lissa Evans finds the sweet spot with apparent effortlessness. Sharp, witty and warm. Press it on friends
Lev Parikian
I loved Small Bomb at Dimperley so much, I found myself reading slower & slower because I didn’t want it to end. Brilliantly funny, with a sharply observed cast of eccentric but utterly believable characters, it’s a masterclass in understated British fiction
Frances Quinn
One of our finest writers of literary entertainment
Spectator

User Reviews

Book 4.0
Narration 5.0
4.0
5.0
I enjoyed this book. The story unfolded well and I liked the characters. I'd say it was witty rather than funny. The writing style supports this giving a PG Wodehouse tone to the book. The only slight downside to this was that I felt a bit removed from the characters and didn't rush to start listening again when I took a break. Once I did though I was drawn back in. It still feels a bit like I was watching from a distance rather than being in the middle of the story.
Mrsstorerma 21/10/2024

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