My first novel by Bobby Palmer and I found it thought provoking.

I did not find the concept of a talking fox to be strange. My interpretation of this is that Jack is so stressed and lonely, he is having a crisis and the fox is just his imagination. I felt sorry for Jack, though I felt irritated by him too.

The book deals with Gerry’s Alzheimers so sympathetically, I was very impressed with the way the author tackled this.

Overall, I found the story to be a little slow, but I did enjoy it.

I have mixed feelings about this book, and whilst there were moments that I really enjoyed, I did find that some of the book dragged. My biggest problem, though, was with the character of Jack, because for most of the book I really didn't like him. That made it difficult to care about what would happen to him, and I found that whilst I sensed that I was supposed to be worried about him, I mostly just wanted to give him a big shake! By the end of the book I did feel differently about him, but that was at the end, and for me that was too long a haul to have been waiting always for Gerry's story. Gerry was my favourite character, and it was his story I was most engaged with by the end.

The book is written in an interesting way, told from multiple points of view, including the fox - some readers might like that, some might not! I decided early on to just go with the talking fox and not overthink it, and I think that was probably a good plan! But the multiple viewpoints mean you do get some repetition in there, which I think was what made things feel a bit slow at times.

It does have some lovely nature writing through it though, and moments that I really did enjoy.

What a lovely book.
At first I struggled to get Into it a bit, but it soon wasn't a problem.
The depth of feeling and the unsaid between Jack and his dad is immense.
So much is said and also unsaid.

The way Gerry's Alzheimer's is portrayed is gentle and effective. The changes is their relationship and the care and understanding he needs.

I just love the fox. I cried at the sad bit too. What a lovely fox. So much meaning and so helpful to the characters. I've tried to think of what the fox really represented, but at present I'm going with a fox who wanted to comment a father and son.

A lovely read.

I was so excited to read this as I was a massive fan of Isaac and the Egg!!
Small Hours is an equally captivating and emotionally charged read that offers a deep exploration of family relationships and personal discovery. The story follows Jack, estranged from his father and working in the city, who returns home to the country when his mother mysteriously leaves. Once again the author handles complex and sensitive themes with care and finesse.
A really engaging read.

There was much to admire about this book. All of the characters were beautifully drawn and dementia and its effect on all the family members treated sensitively.

Unfortunately for me I just cannot give a high rating to a book that features a talking fox. Was it a figment of Jack's imagination, or were we really meant to believe a fox was imparting wisdom? For me it felt intrusive and detracted from the pleasure of reading this book.

This was another beautifully emotional one from Bobby Palmer, who is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. Small Hours handles the incredibly difficult subject of Dementia with love and care. Personally, it was tough to read because it hits close to home but, I loved the sensitivity and poetic nature of the book. And, just like Issac and the Egg, I loved the mystery and magic surrounding Jack and the fox.

Another triumph for Bobby Palmer.

Heartwarming, heart breaking, this novel has themes of familial relationships, expectations, dementia and of course, a talking fox.

I really enjoyed it, it was quirky and at times sad but again it really spoke to me. Beautifully written, it was a pleasure to read it. I can’t wait for this one to be released as I will be recommending it to my book club, as we all really enjoyed ‘Isaac and the egg’.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a family drama at heart, but in a sort of toned down way that could really appeal to someone wanting a cozy, slice-of-life type story. I found that parts of it dragged a little because of this, with a lot of sections being a repeat of things we already know but from a new perspective. These sections have their worth, don't get me wrong, but I do feel a little like the audience is being led to the answers, rather than being expected to make connections themselves.

Palmer's debut novel, Isaac and the Egg was my book of 2022, so of course, I pounced on his second.

Palmer is a genius with words and has succeeded in following up his superb debut novel as poignantly and perceptively. Isaac and the Egg dealt with grief. This deals with regrets, unfulfilled dreams, disappointments, the missed opportunities of four members of a family and a devastating disease of one of them, which makes for a considerably more intense read. Jack doesn't talk to his father. Charlotte, his sister, doesn't talk to Jack. Why does his father have reminders all over the house, and where the heck is his mother?

Yes. Intense. Oh, I forgot the fox. Who's surprisingly wise.

I have just one 'but'. Isaac's egg talked (well, grunted, really). Jack's fox was a good deal more talkative and intelligible. (You really do have to read these books to get it!) I think Mr P has covered talking animals and dairy products pretty well now.

Whatever he writes next, though, I'll be snapping it up!

“An elm. An eclipse. A black butterfly. Midnight, a fox crossing your path.”


Bobby Palmer has done it again. I think ‘Isaac and the Egg’ may well be my favourite read of 2023, and when I was lucky enough to get my hands on his second book, I was distraught - surely the magic of Egg’s story couldn’t be replicated? However, I’m happy to report that ‘Small Hours’ more than delivers.

Jack’s fast paced London life comes to a grinding halt when he abruptly loses his job and finds everything he’s worked for crumbling around him. Adrift and confused, he bumps into an injured fox on a park walk in an attempt to clear his head. Oh, but there’s just one catch; the fox can talk. From here spirals a quietly epic family story of Jack and his father Gerry and how a loveable fox just might be the key to help heal their fractured relationship.

I loved this book. Told primarily through the alternating perspectives of Jack and his father, but also dipping into the mindset of absent mother Hazel, journeying to the past and occasionally embodying various local wildlife, Palmer’s scope and narrative structure are equally ambitious. Plagued with a disease resembling Parkinson’s and/or dementia, Gerry’s sections are heat-wrenchingly tangential, however this leads to some of Palmer’s more poetic and ambitious passages, and ones which I particularly enjoyed stylistically.

There’s no doubt that this author has a talent for writing complex family relationships, and his dabbling with magical realism elements help ensure his stories are unforgettable; namely, by anthropomorphising a loveable creature and tasking it with healing the rift between family members. Yes, this book definitely had echoes of ‘Isaac and the Egg’ in both characters and narrative arc. Was I mad about it? No. Palmer has hit on a formula that works, and I know I’ll be thinking about Fox just as much as I’ll be thinking about Egg (aka forever).

I was so excited to read this as I was a huge fan of Isaac and the Egg... and I wasn't disappointed. It's every bit as warm, poignant, quirky and beautifully written and I absolutely loved it. The relationship between Jack and Fox works in much the same way as the relationship between Isaac and Egg but it still felt fresh and different. I never know who to say when people ask me who my favourite author is, but from now on the answer is Bobby Palmer!

This book was a beautiful delve into the beauty of life. All the small things, and the small hours that can add up.
To begin with I struggled with the different character perspectives and the writing. For instance, when Gerry was speaking I thought it was to be read like a poem and it took me a while. Maybe this was intentional?
I also think that I went in expecting another Isaac and the Egg and maybe that wasn't fair? I did sob my heart out when the fox died though. Great work.

It is one of those books that transports you making you forget about real life and full of delightful characters that spring to life. I actually felt like I was there in the story with them ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bobby Palmer is fast becoming an auto-buy/favourite author for me.
Moving and thought provoking with a stunning writing style.
I don’t want to give much away, I think it’s best going in blind.
However, I definitely recommend and I’ll be keeping my eyes open for any future Bobby Palmer books.

This one was a bit tricky for me. While I can appreciate that the author's style of writing, his tone and choice of language, I didn't get along very well with the content of the book.
This is a family drama at heart, but in a sort of toned down way that could really appeal to someone wanting a cozy, slice-of-life type story. I found that parts of it dragged a little because of this, with a lot of sections being a repeat of things we already know but from a new perspective. These sections have their worth, don't get me wrong, but I do feel a little like the audience is being led to the answers, rather than being expected to make connections themselves.
On the whole the characters are extremely believeable and work well together, but again I found this a little flavourless. We do get character growth, especially from Jack, the main character, but it is exactly as expected, with little that really grabs your attention. None of the characters ever really break the moulds of their steroetypes, and while that does match the tone of a book trying to provide nothing but comfort, I prefer to be challenged, even just a little.
All in all a well structured, well written, wholesome family drama. But I couldn't find that little spark that might have made me care.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Jack Penwick has spent many years in the city, in his concrete and glass tower, burying himself in work, he’s extremely conscientious, never counting the hours, always in the office before anyone else. A very different life to the old one he used to lead when he lived with his parents and sister in a tumbling down house on a hill surrounded by woods, in a village far away from the cities. He was eager for a completely different lifestyle when he left for University - and he definitely achieved that goal.

Jack and his father, Gerry, ( who now has dementia) have had a somewhat strained relationship - his father disagreed with Jack going to University and then working in the city - he never congratulated him on his achievements, in fact Gerry would rather talk to the animals on his land than this angry young man he calls his son, and equally, Jack would rather ignore this man who is his father, a man who never took any interest in his life.

And so, father and son let the years slip by, barely seeing each other, the chasm growing ever wider, and Jack barely had any contact with his mother and sister as a consequence, something that hurts his mother terribly.

Then one day Jack received a call from his sister saying that their mother had gone missing. This was poor timing for Jack, having just lost his job, he had enough to worry about, but he had no option but to return to the crumbling old house on the hill, back to a father he no longer cared for. However, one day very soon, you will see father and son standing in the back garden, staring out into the woods, oddly, with a fox standing between them, and this particular fox plays a very big part in this storyline!

Each Penwick family member hurts so badly, is bitter, unable to find the right words, unable to find ANY words - hanging onto previous slights and disappointments until they fester - unable to see a way forward. The words are there, but they’re buried deep inside, unable or unwilling to be voiced.

From the author of the hugely popular Isaac and the Egg, the writing in Small Hours is exquisite, describing the wildlife, landscape and emotions, in such a way as to make them a character in their own right. This is a beautiful story and comes very highly recommended.

A sensitive rendering of the complexities of family relationships especially when dementia is involved. It is easy to feel sympathy for all the characters and become involved with the dilemmas they face. Palmer’s way of writing when telling the story from the father’s viewpoint is clever and skilful. An emotional and thought provoking read.

This was far from my usual read but after all the acclaim for Isaac and the egg I was really intrigued to read this. Featuring two main (human) characters, father Gerry and son Jack who have had little to do with each other over the last many years. Both of them are experiencing a turning point in their lives but are no closer to understanding the other until a fox intervenes between them. The different voices and styles of writing in this were fabulous, the way the author wrote Gerry’s thoughts in particular was very poignant. The story in itself is simple but there’s so many layer of emotion, of past history that fly off the page it gradually unfolds the situations that have led to today, to the estrangement between the two and of Jack’s realisations of why he lives his life as he does and how he feels in life. There are many dimensions to this but at heart it’s about two men and the relationships between fathers and sons.

I adored Isaac and the Egg so I was eagerly anticipating the latest novel from Bobby Palmer. However, I was left underwhelmed.

I enjoyed the structure of the story and felt it was well written yet it was too similar to Isaac and the Egg for me to appreciate it in its own right. I also found most of the characters to be one dimensional (with the exception of Gerry) and I would have enjoyed the story more had they been given some more depth.

Unfortunately - for me - a disappointing read.

Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the ARC.

Can’t rate this book highly enough. Totally believable characters who leave you at the end of the story wishing you could stay with them just a little bit longer. And the magic of the animals that link the story together leave you feeling the same way. A wonderful telling of how we all take our own roads to find the comfort of belonging and connectedness that each of us needs.