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y separately published work icon Small Joys of Real Life single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2021... 2021 Small Joys of Real Life
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The night Eva shared a smile with Pat, something started. Two weeks later, lying together in her bed, Pat said, 'You can't live your life saying you'll get around to doing something you know will make you happy. You just have to do it.'

'Eva didn't know how devastating those words would turn out to be. Pat dies and the aftershock leaves Eva on unsteady ground. She is pregnant. And she has to make a choice. Suddenly, the world that she at times already questioned, her career, her roommates and friends, and life in the inner-city are all even harder to navigate. Her best friends, Sarah and Annie, are also dealing with the shifts and changes of their late twenties, and each of them will at times let the others down. 

'Small Joys of Real Life is a poignant and unpredictable novel from an exciting new literary talent about how the life you have can change in an instant. It's about friendship, desire, loss and growing up to accept that all you can do is be in the moment and look to find the joys in between.' (Publication summary)

Notes

  • Dedication: 'For Mum'

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Hachette Australia , 2021 .
      image of person or book cover 6981612467976283092.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 300p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 28th July 2021
      ISBN: 9780733645471

Other Formats

  • Dyslexic edition.

Works about this Work

Grief and Loss : Fiction from a Child’s Point of View Debra Adelaide , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 437 2021; (p. 35-36)

— Review of We Were Not Men Campbell Mattinson , 2021 single work novel ; The Cookbook of Common Prayer Francesca Haig , 2021 single work novel ; Small Joys of Real Life Allee Richards , 2021 single work novel

'One of the hardest challenges for a novelist is to write a story for adults from the point of view of a child. In 1847, Charlotte Brontë set the bar high with Jane Eyre, the first novel to achieve this. The story ends when Jane is a woman but commences with the child Jane’s perspective. So effective for readers was Brontë’s ground-breaking feat that Charles Dickens decided to write Great Expectations in the voice of the child Pip, after just hearing about Jane Eyre, even before reading it.' (Introduction)

Coming of Age on Impulse Thuy On , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , October 2021;

— Review of Small Joys of Real Life Allee Richards , 2021 single work novel

'The soft pastel-pink cover of Allee Richards’ debut novel features a helmetless young woman in a short green dress riding a pushbike, her dark hair blowing in the breeze. From her carefree demeanour and the title, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is a self-help book full of hokey affirmations about finding beauty in ephemeral moments. Small Joys of Real Life is, however, more nuanced and complex than this first impression might suggest.' (Introduction)

Books Roundup : Small Joys of Real Life, Things We See in the Light, Lies, Damned Lies, My Body Keeps Your Secrets Ellen Cregan , Melanie Saward , Monique Grbec , Emily Clements , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , September 2021;

— Review of Small Joys of Real Life Allee Richards , 2021 single work novel ; The Things We See in the Light Amal Awad , 2021 single work novel ; Lies, Damned Lies Claire G. Coleman , 2021 single work autobiography ; My Body Keeps Your Secrets Lucia Osborne-Crowley , 2021 single work autobiography biography
Small Joys of Real Life by Allee Richards Review : Millennial Tragedy Finds Joy amid Doom Sarah Ayoub , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 11 August 2021;

— Review of Small Joys of Real Life Allee Richards , 2021 single work novel
Small Joys of Real Life by Allee Richards Review : Millennial Tragedy Finds Joy amid Doom Sarah Ayoub , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 11 August 2021;

— Review of Small Joys of Real Life Allee Richards , 2021 single work novel
Books Roundup : Small Joys of Real Life, Things We See in the Light, Lies, Damned Lies, My Body Keeps Your Secrets Ellen Cregan , Melanie Saward , Monique Grbec , Emily Clements , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , September 2021;

— Review of Small Joys of Real Life Allee Richards , 2021 single work novel ; The Things We See in the Light Amal Awad , 2021 single work novel ; Lies, Damned Lies Claire G. Coleman , 2021 single work autobiography ; My Body Keeps Your Secrets Lucia Osborne-Crowley , 2021 single work autobiography biography
Coming of Age on Impulse Thuy On , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , October 2021;

— Review of Small Joys of Real Life Allee Richards , 2021 single work novel

'The soft pastel-pink cover of Allee Richards’ debut novel features a helmetless young woman in a short green dress riding a pushbike, her dark hair blowing in the breeze. From her carefree demeanour and the title, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is a self-help book full of hokey affirmations about finding beauty in ephemeral moments. Small Joys of Real Life is, however, more nuanced and complex than this first impression might suggest.' (Introduction)

Grief and Loss : Fiction from a Child’s Point of View Debra Adelaide , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 437 2021; (p. 35-36)

— Review of We Were Not Men Campbell Mattinson , 2021 single work novel ; The Cookbook of Common Prayer Francesca Haig , 2021 single work novel ; Small Joys of Real Life Allee Richards , 2021 single work novel

'One of the hardest challenges for a novelist is to write a story for adults from the point of view of a child. In 1847, Charlotte Brontë set the bar high with Jane Eyre, the first novel to achieve this. The story ends when Jane is a woman but commences with the child Jane’s perspective. So effective for readers was Brontë’s ground-breaking feat that Charles Dickens decided to write Great Expectations in the voice of the child Pip, after just hearing about Jane Eyre, even before reading it.' (Introduction)

Last amended 29 Apr 2022 11:37:09
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