Shy Creatures
Clare Chambers
A mute man with a waist-length beard, hidden away for decades, is finally discovered and taken to a psychiatric hospital, where an art therapist becomes determined to learn his story. Based on a true case, and so tender about kindness.
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★ 5Small Pleasures
Clare Chambers
1950s England, a lonely journalist, and a woman claiming a virgin birth. Quiet, tender, and it wrecked me.
★ 5The Correspondent
Virginia Evans
The protagonist of this beautiful novel is a 73-year-old woman processing her life — and regrets — through letters. It’s poignant but not saccharine, specific but universally appealing. I dare you not to cry.
Tom Lake
Ann Patchett
An older woman tells her daughters about the summer she spent performing alongside — and falling in love with — a now-famous actor. My friend Anna said her husband adored this book just as much as she did — impressive, considering he typically reads business non-fiction.