A Year of Marvellous Ways - by Sarah Winman (Paperback)

About the Book

Cornwall, 1947. Marvellous Ways is a 90-year-old woman who has lived alone in a remote creek for nearly all her life. Recently she has taken to spending her days sitting on a mooring stone by the river with a telescope. She is waiting for something, she is not sure what, but she'll know it when she sees it. Drake is a young soldier left reeling by the war. He's agreed to fulfil a dying man's last wish and hand-deliver a letter to the man's father in Cornwall. But Drake's journey doesn't go to plan, and sees him literally wash up in Marvellous' creek, broken in body and spirit. When Marvellous comes to his aid, an unlikely friendship grows between the two. Can Drake give Marvellous what she needs to say goodbye to the world, and can she give him what he needs to go on?.

Book Synopsis

From the author of STILL LIFE, TIN MAN and WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT.

'Will stand the test of time' Irish Examiner
'Beautiful prose that ebbs and flows' Independent
'A Year of Marvellous Ways is like Dylan Thomas given a sexy rewrite by Angela Carter'
Patrick Gale

This is a story about Marvellous Ways, an eighty-nine-year-old woman who lives alone in a remote Cornish creek, spending her days sitting by the river, peering through a telescope. And it's about Francis Drake, a young soldier who washes up in her creek, shattered by war and broken-hearted. It's about the magic in everyday life and the lure of the sea, the healing powers of storytelling and sloe gin, love and death, and how we carry on when grief comes snapping at our heels.

From the Back Cover

'Will stand the test of time' Irish Examiner

From the author of STILL LIFE, TIN MAN and WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT

This is a story about Marvellous Ways, an eighty-nine-year-old woman who lives alone in a remote Cornish creek, spending her days sitting by the river, peering through a telescope. And it's about Francis Drake, a young soldier who washes up in her creek, shattered by war and broken-hearted. It's about the magic in everyday life and the lure of the sea, the healing powers of storytelling and sloe gin, love and death, and how we carry on when grief comes snapping at our heels.

'Winman excels in her sweeping prose and her unwavering theme of love in all its forms' Stylist

'Beautiful prose that ebbs and flows' Independent

'A Year of Marvellous Ways is like Dylan Thomas given a sexy rewrite by Angela Carter'
Patrick Gale

Also available in ebook and audio

www.tinderpress.co.uk
9780755390939

Review Quotes

A Year of Marvellous Ways is like Dylan Thomas given a sexy rewrite by Angela Carter

A book to savour, to read in wonderful, rich little bits like dark chocolate. Winman's prose is poetry, with a rhythm, a heartbeat, that carries you through like music

A glorious poem of a novel - a story to read slowly and to marvel at the beauty of it

The sense of magic infused through the novel casts a spell over the reader that makes you not want to put the book down until you've turned the final page

Yet again Sarah Winman has written a beautiful, beautiful novel. A Year of Marvellous Ways will hypnotise, seduce, until you can do nothing but pick it up and read it again

A breathtaking reading experience... a beautiful book that is unafraid to reveal the ugliness of the world--Toronto Star

A gripping waiting game ... The novel's surprising denouement is also well worth the wait--Observer

A lavish and clever read which will stand the test of time--Irish Examiner

A truly enchanting book--Irish Times

Beautifully written--Sun on Sunday, Fabulous Magazine

Fanciful imagery and beautiful prose that ebbs and flows--Independent

In this warm, kindly novel, the sea is both magical and healing. Lovely--The Times

Moving... offbeat and memorable--Woman & Home

One to read slowly so you can savour every beautiful sentence--Good Housekeeping (Book of the Month)

She is particularly good at bringing the sensations of landscape to bear - its smell, sound and look - and in Marvellous has created a character of warmth and eccentricity--Metro

The book demonstrates vividly how we need family around us, whether homegrown or grafted, to live our fullest lives... By the end of this novel, we too belong in the world of Marvellous Ways--Sunday Express, S Magazine

The stories are touching and the twist of magical realism lends them a joyful, fairytale element--Daily Record

What struck me was Winman's gorgeous imagery, beautiful passages and imaginative storytelling. Quirky and slightly hairbrained, A Year of Marvellous Ways is an unforgettable book--Mitford Society Summer Reads

Winman excels in her sweeping prose and her unwavering theme of love in all its forms--Stylist

About the Author

Sarah Winman grew up in Essex and now lives in London. She attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and went on to act in theatre, film and television. She has written four novels, WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT, A YEAR OF MARVELLOUS WAYS, TIN MAN and STILL LIFE.