Being Emily - Softcover

An enchanting novel in which ordinary lives are illuminated with extraordinary charm. * * DAILY TELEGRAPH on Buddha Da * * A delightfully deadpan look at what happens when one family member decides that he's unlocked the secrets of the universe. * * INDEPENDENT * * Her deliciously corkscrewed tale flows with the sap of everyday life. * * SUNDAY TIMES * * Donovan's novel is an accomplished family drama which is quirky and endearing. Don't wait until your next life to read it. * * SUNDAY HERALD * * An endearing coming-of-age novel, provoking laughter and sadness in equal measure. -- Leanne Kolirin * * Mslexia * * Donovan creates a complex plot with just a handful of characters . . . Descriptions of Glasgow's cityscape reveal Donovan's great eye for detail . . . With its heart-wrenching plot and spirited prose, Donovan's latest novel is her best offering yet. -- Theresa Munoz * * Sunday Herald * * Tragic but uplifting . . . a heart-warming read' * * Eve * * A sparky story . . . buzzing with Glaswegian patois, this is a charming coming-of-real-life novel. -- Kerry Fowler * * Good Housekeeping * * Donovan is a relentlessly realistic novelist: there's no Charles Saatchi to sweep Fiona away to fame and fortune, but her passage from the boundless dreams of childhood to the achievements and accommodations of a sadder but wiser adulthood is as uplifting as any fairytale happy ending. -- Suzi Feay * * Waterstone's Books Quarterly * * Donovan's [has a] bold, gallus knack for exploding notions of class, gender and race . . . -- Anna Millar * * Scotland on Sunday * * From the start Donovan conjures both the script and subtext of family exchanges with characteristic economy and wit . . . a very human novel, one that credits its characters with wit and allows them their prejudices . . . Ann Donovan is to be cherished: funny, immediate and highly empathetic, her scenes may be domestic but her concerns range refreshingly beyond. -- Stephanie Cross * * Times Literary Supplement * *

Things are never dull in the O'Connell family. Still, Fiona, squeezed between her quiet brother and her mischievous line-dancing twin sisters, thinks life in their tenement flat is far less interesting than Emily Bronte's. But tragedy is not confined to Victorian novels. And life for Fiona in this happy domestic setup is about to change forever. Following the devastating events of a single day, her family can never be the same. But perhaps, new relationships will develop - built on a solid foundation of love. Moving, funny and ultimately heart-warming, Being Emily is a wonderful novel about one young girl trying to find her place in the world amid the turmoil that only your own family can create.