Little Beauty - Tapa blanda

"A starkly beautiful and haunting work" Donal Ryan "Finely crafted and featuring a brilliantly complicated heroine, Jameson's heartbreaking third novel is a moving story about social mores and the power of parental love." Irish Times "Original characters and flinty dialogue ... [a] darkly stylish tale of human behaviour" The Sunday Times "Funny, engaging and ultimately heart-breaking ... an impressive portrayal of motherhood and sacrifice." Irish Independent "A colourful, fast-paced read" Image, Book of the Month

1975: Laura Quinn has spent her life on the remote and beautiful Inis Miol Mor - Whale Island - off the west coast of Ireland. After the death of her parents, and faced with the continuing reluctance of her lover, Martin, to marry her, she realizes she needs to leave the island for her life really to begin. She accepts a job as a housekeeper with a wealthy couple on the mainland. But a year later, Laura is back, and this time she is not alone. She has at last found the love of her life: a baby son named Matthew. But what sort of life can an unmarried mother have on a remote Irish island in the 1970s? In this complex situation is revealed a picture of a tightly knit community where Laura inevitably comes under pressure to conform to the rules of society. At times humorous and ultimately heart-breaking, Alison Jameson's "Little Beauty" is a brilliant portrayal of love, motherhood and sacrifice that will mesmerize readers and linger long in the mind.