Needlemouse
The uplifting bestseller featuring the most unlikely heroine of 2019
by Jane O'Connor
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Pub Date 27 Jun 2019 | Archive Date 30 Jun 2019
Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing | Ebury Press (Fiction)
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Description
Time to come out of hibernation...
Sylvia Penton has been hibernating for years, it's no wonder she's a little prickly...
Sylvia lives alone, dedicating herself to her job at the local university. On weekends, she helps out at a local hedgehog sanctuary because it gives her something to talk about on Mondays - and it makes people think she's nicer than she is.
Only Sylvia has a secret: she's been in love with her boss, Professor Lomax, for over a decade now, and she's sure he's just waiting for the right time to leave his wife. Meanwhile she stores every crumb of his affection and covertly makes trouble for anyone she feels gets in his way.
But when a bright new PhD candidate catches the Professor’s eye, Sylvia’s dreams of the fairy tale ending she has craved for so long, are soon in tatters, driving her to increasingly desperate measures and an uncertain future.
Sylvia might have been sleep walking through her life but things are about to change now she’s woken up…
A quirky, charming uplifting novel perfect for fans of Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Sarah Haywood's The Cactus. The feelgood bestseller about unrequited love, loneliness and the redemptive qualities of hedgehogs featuring the most unlikely heroine of 2019.
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WHAT READERS ARE SAYING
'An eccentrically heartwarming tale of steeping out of your comfort zone. I was rooting for Sylvia' - Lottie, Netgalley
'I was charmed by this tale. A feel-good book' - Heather, Netgalley
'A lovely story with delightful characters. Would highly recommend, especially if you are a fan of Ruth Hogan and Gail Honeyman' - Mary, Netgalley
'An absolutely superb novel about someone who is dissatisfied with her life but feels it's difficult to change. I would highly recommend to anyone who likes a quirky novel to entertain them' - Sue, Netgalley
'Oh how I adored this book which is reminiscent of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' - Justine, Netgalley
'I like a book that makes me feel uplifted, that soothes the soul, and this book certainly did that. Sylvia is definitely one of my favourite fictional characters' - Joanne, Netgalley
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781529103281 |
| PRICE | £7.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 384 |
Featured Reviews
Mary H, Reviewer
Anyone who has worked in a school, faculty or department (they are interchangeable and change frequently) of a university will immediately recognise fifty-two year old Sylvia, the spikey personal assistant to the Prof. Sylvia guards the Prof’s time and space with the dedication of a rottweiler and she has been in love with him for the last ten years (the Prof not the rottweiler). When a glamorous new PhD student appears on the scene Sylvia fears her dreams of ‘happy ever after’ with the Prof are damned. She decides that she has to take action and this leads to her complete downfall.
Sylvia lives alone and divides her time between her job at the university and volunteering for the local hedgehog sanctuary run by widower Jonas. She has no close friends and only just tolerates the company of her mother, her sister Millie, her husband Kamal and their daughter Crystal.
To be frank, at the beginning of the novel, Sylvia really isn’t a very nice person and I was sighing and tutting at her spiteful and underhand actions. However, as her story starts to unfold I found myself liking and understanding her more and more. Whilst Sylvia’s action lead to her world imploding in the short term they also make her re-evaluate her existence and, like a hedgehog at the end of winter, come out of hibernation and begin to live her life.
Jane O’Connor has crafted a lovely story with delightful characters, straight-laced Sylvia, scatty Millie, thoughtful Crystal and philosophical Jonas to name just a few. Sylvia’s journey to self-awareness is told with poignancy and care. I loved this novel and would highly recommend you read it, especially if you are a fan of Ruth Hogan and/or Gail Honeyman. Fun fact: needlemouse is Japanese for hedgehog. How cute is that?
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