The Saint of Lost Things: A Guardian Summer Read

(Paperback)

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'One of the most arresting voices of her generation' OBSERVER FROM THE WINNER OF THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2022 'Reading The Saint of Lost Things was one of those perfect reading experiences that come along very occasionally; it's moving, funny, tragic, triumphant, totally gripping, a pure gift of a novel' DONAL RYAN 'Superb' FINANCIAL TIMES 'You'll be moved, you might laugh and there may well be redemption' EVENING STANDARD 'Thoroughly absorbing' GUARDIAN Lindy Morris is stuck. She lives in rural Ireland, banished to a lonely bungalow by her Granda Morris, with only her Auntie Bell and the TV for company. But one day Lindy realises that life is not quite what she thought it was- her mother's disappearance and her own lost years need to be brought out into the light. Suddenly Lindy is awake, uncovering the very secrets that will release her from her past. Told with devastating wit and poignancy, THE SAINT OF LOST THINGS is the triumphant story of an unlikely heroine as she makes her bid for freedom.

Reviews

Tish Delaney's first novel, Before My Actual Heart Breaks, suggested that she was an author of rare promise and acuity. This follow-up confirms her as one of the most arresting voices of her generation. The tale of an aunt and niece living in uncomfortable proximity and mutual antagonism with each other in rural Donegal, it combines deep psychological insight with unexpected touches of lightness and humour. Delaney never succumbs to cliche, but creates a vividly realised narrative in which you long for her characters to break free and triumph * Observer *
Reading The Saint of Lost Things was one of those perfect reading experiences that come along very occasionally; it's moving, funny, tragic, triumphant, totally gripping, a pure gift of a novel -- Donal Ryan
Superb. An assured second novel. The destructive impulses driving Delaney's characters reap a bitter harvest. Delaney has a long and fruitful career ahead of her * Financial Times *
Delaney has an effortless skill to unlock the fabric and nuances of working-class family life. Thoroughly absorbing, it didn't let me down -- Alex Wheatle * Guardian *
You'll be moved, you might laugh and there may well be redemption * Evening Standard *
An engrossing read * Image Magazine *
This is a fantastic read * Henley Life *
Striking. In creating a protagonist who is steely against the odds, Delaney shows deftly that our dreams need never abandon us * Irish Times *
Novel never loses its humanity in portrayal of a troubled life: authentic and complex [...] elegantly paced. [A] warm, truthful, character-driven novel worth a read for its unusual and entirely believable characters * Business Post *

Author Bio

Tish Delaney was born and brought up in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. Like a lot of people of her generation, she left the sectarian violence behind by moving to England. After graduating from Manchester University, she moved to London and worked on various magazines and broadsheets as a reporter, reviewer and sub-editor. She left the Financial Times in 2014 to live in the Channel Islands to pursue her career as a writer. Before My Actual Heart Breaks, her debut novel, was published by Hutchinson Heinemann in 2021.