Small Hours - Bobby Palmer - ★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Bobby Palmer

NARRATOR: Stephen Mangan

GENRE: Contemporary Literary Fiction.

PUBLICATION DATE: March 14, 2024

RATING: 3.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: A literary fiction about a family that has drifted apart over the years and how one incident sets the wheels in reverse motion. Lyrical, character-oriented writing. A few interesting magical realism interludes. A bit repetitive at times. Not for every reader, but a good choice for lit fic lovers.

Plot Preview:

After having suddenly lost what he had assumed to be a secure corporate job, Jack is back home, which is a wild place at the edge of the woods. His aged father Gerry is teetering at the brink of sanity because of his memory issues, and Jack’s younger sister Charlotte is frustrated with everyone and everything. His mother Hazel is missing, and no one has any clue about where she has disappeared.

Jack and Gerry have always been the opposite of each other, but they now seem to have one thing in common – they both can speak to animals. And to Jack’s disbelief, one fox actually talks back.

These five characters (four humans and a fox) guide us through this literary narrative in their third person perspectives.

I am a huge fan of this author’s debut work, ‘Isaac and the Egg’. It was such an innovative piece of writing that it left a huge book hangover back when I had read it. So it goes without saying that my expectations were unrealistically high from his sophomore work. The novel does tick many items on the quality checklist, but it doesn’t end up as impactful as the first book.

Bookish Yays:

💐 The lyrical writing, with plenty of poignant thoughts and beautiful narrative about nature. It creates a soothing yet melancholic atmosphere that suits the plot well.

💐 The character development: so essential in a character-oriented work. The writing feels so intimate that we know and understand the characters even before the characters understand themselves.

💐 The quirky yet relatable family, which isn’t dysfunctional the way we typically see in fiction. Each family member is their own person and yet considers themselves a vital component of the circle. The story thus contains a genuine portrayal of human relationships with and without loved ones.

💐 Gerry’s memory issues, covered so sensitively and realistically.

💐 The highlight on the quandary of personal vs. professional pursuits, which are constantly at odds with each other.

💐 This is one rare story that focusses on male characters’ emotions even more than the female characters’ feelings and depicts them authentically.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

🌹 The talking fox is an interesting touch, for sure. I really enjoyed the fox’s perspective. However, unlike in ‘Isaac and the Egg’, there’s no rationale behind this strange occurrence. It felt whimsical for the sake of it.

🌹 Many of the chapters feel like they offer an ode to nature, with extensive natural descriptions and animal perspectives. This adds literary merit to the writing but does not add value to the plot itself. These sections with extended descriptions also make the pace slower.

Bookish Nays:

🌵 The content, whether from the human interactions or the natural descriptions, gets a bit too rambling at times. It is easy to zone out on audio because it often feels like a creative writing essay full of literary flourishes. After a while, the plot begins to feel dragged because of this repetitive content.

🌵 The characters of Jack, Johnny and Gerry are easy to muddle up because of their similar-sounding names, more so on audio where Gerry sounds exactly like Jerry. I wish books would always use distinct-sounding names for the key characters.

🎧 The Audiobook Experience:

The audiobook, clocking at 9 hrs 47 min, is narrated exceptionally well by Stephen Mangan. He doesn’t go overboard with his character voices, but offers enough of a distinction in his pitch to help us distinguish across them easily. There are some added sound effects in the audio version that make the book an even greater treat. If you aren’t the kind to zone out easily during lengthy descriptive sections [writing this with a sheepish grin], the audio version is the way to go.

Overall, I did like this book quite a lot, but the author’s debut had made such a powerful impact that this fell slightly short. ‘Isaac and the Egg’ was much more bizarre in concept and yet it felt natural in its storytelling. ‘Small Hours’, on the other hand, should have felt more grounded but ends up feeling forced.

I think that I would have enjoyed this slightly better had I actually read it. There are many beautiful sections in the writing that I couldn’t fully get into because of the audio version, despite the narrator’s outstanding performance.

Definitely recommended to readers who would enjoy the blend of literary and magical. It is not for those who dislike character-oriented fiction or who prefer a literal interpretation of text. This is a mood read, so pick it up when you want something contemplative and descriptive.

My thanks to Headline Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “Small Hours”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.