One Day I Shall Astonish the World

Description

From the prize-winning author of Reasons to be Cheerful comes a story about the ebb and flow of female friendship over half a lifetime Susan and Norma have been best friends for years, at first thrust together by force of circumstance (a job at The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery shop in 1990s Leicestershire) and then by force of character (neither being particularly inclined to make friends with anyone else). But now, thirty years later, faced with a husband seeking immortality and Norma out of reach on a wave of professional glory, Susan begins to wonder whether she has made the right choices about life, love, work, and, most importantly, friendship. Nina Stibbe's new novel is the story of the wonderful and sometimes surprising path of friendship- from its conspiratorial beginnings, along its irritating wrong turns, to its final gratifying destination.

Nina Stibbe was born in Leicester. She is the author of two works of non-fiction - Love, Nina and An Almost Perfect Christmas - and three previous novels- Man at the Helm, Paradise Lodge, and Reasons to be Cheerful, which is the only novel to have won both the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction and the Comedy Women in Print Award. Love, Nina won Non-Fiction Book of the Year and was adapted by Nick Hornby into a BBC TV series. Nina Stibbe lives in Cornwall.

Nina Stibbe is one of our funniest novelists - it's time to take her seriously * Daily Telegraph * Stibbe writes some of the best-turned comic sentences in contemporary writing. Like Susan, she makes it look easier than it must be. * Sunday Times * The funniest person who owns a computer -- Ann Patchett I love Nina Stibbe and her new novel, One Day I Shall Astonish the World, is such a lovingly observed testament to the complexities and profundities of female friendship -- Elizabeth Day Sue Townsend's heir . . . A moving ode to marriage and friendship and the great joke of agency in a world where everything can turn upside down in a heartbeat * Irish Times * Wonderful . . . Her best yet -- Kathy Burke Tender and comical * New York Times * I loved it so SO much! Funnier than ever but with a new depth and maturity -- Marian Keyes Nina Stibbe's latest novel, One Day I Shall Astonish the World buttresses her position as the Kingsley Amis of the twenty-first century. . . . Stibbe's genius, like Amis's, is for noting the cadences of ordinary speech and the idiotic platitudes we all spout. In the anatomy of English conversation, Stibbe (born 1962) takes up where Amis (died 1995) left off. There are echoes of Adrian Mole, Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood - but with no copying or pastiche. Stibbe makes the everyday funny. If a Martian asked me to explain the tragicomedy of normal English life, I would direct him to Stibbe -- Harry Mount * Spectator, 2022 Books of the Year * As a comic novelist, Stibbe is so truly incomparable, I can only describe this perfect novel as Stibbe meets Stibbe, with a touch of Stibbe. (And if you love Nina Stibbe...you'll love this.) For as long as I could make it last, the world just felt a bit nicer. A true gift of a novel, I utterly adored it -- Meg Mason Nina Stibbe takes on female friendship and ambition in a novel that has all its predecessors' gossipy bookishness and quirky charm * Observer * It's darker than Stibbe's previous novels, but her trademark wit is still in evidence and her odd and eccentric characters remind us that we are odd and eccentric too! * Red, Book of the Month * Darkly funny and wry story is full of nostalgia and friendship * Sun * Warm and wonderfully well-observed . . . One Day I Shall Astonish The World reminds us that the richness of life is in its small details, not the grand plans. This is author Stibbe at her entertaining and heartwarming best * Sunday Express * Nina Stibbe is one of our most beloved comic writers: One Day I Shall Astonish The World, about the lifelong friendship between two women, will cement that reputation further * Daily Mail, 2022 Sure Fire Blockbuster * While there may be echoes of previous greats, however, Stibbe's voice is utterly her own . . . One Day I Shall Astonish the World is, unsurprisingly, very funny. But it might also be Stibbe's most moving novel yet . . . so hilarious and rewarding * Irish Business Post * Funny, kind, sad, relevant, and raucous in all the right places. I loved it so much -- Daisy Buchanan Nina Stibbe is not just very funny but absolutely life-affirming -- Jenny Colgan Clever and funny, it takes a sharp look at the intricacies of marriage, friendship, work, and driving. As with all Stibbe's writing there is a pleasingly perfect balance of wisdom with jokes -- Cathy Rentzenbrink I started off highlighting all the brilliant observations and one-liners but had to give up because there were so many. Nina Stibbe makes being funny look easy, but that's just because she's very, very good at it -- Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures Her best yet and it's a delight to watch this gifted comic writer go from strength to strength . . . You'll be rooting for Susan on every page of a novel packed to the gills with perceptive, laugh-out loud observations and idiosyncratic turns of phrase, putting the quirks of ordinary life under the microscope * Daily Express * For beautifully funny and well-observed comic writing, Nina Stibbe is your go-to author. In her latest release, a tale of lifelong friendship between Susan and Norma, she explores the mistakes, rivalries and love we all experience in life * Stylist, Best Novels for 2022 * The true heir to Sue Townsend -- Caitlin Moran [Stibbe's] new novel is Elena Ferrante re-scripted as English comedy * Daily Telegraph * Delicious * Oldie * Funny of course but also a real departure as it packs most of a life and a long, messy marriage into barely 300 pages and its humour springs from a deep understanding of social pain. This acute portrayal of frienmity is up there with Cats Eye and as nourishing as Anne Tyler on top form -- Patrick Gale I absolutely loved every single page of it! I honestly think it's the funniest thing she's ever written -- Garth Jennings, writer and director of 'Sing' and 'Sing 2' From the comic voice of her generation comes a suburban tale of dysfunctional relationships full of charm, wit and lightly told wisdom * i * A master wielder of dry British humour, Stibbe here chronicles 30 years in the lives of frenemies Susan and Norma - a tangle of sweetness, snubs and secrets from their university days to middle age. There's an LOL moment on almost every page, which makes the pandemic ending astonishingly moving * People Magazine * Very funny . . . Nina does gentle wisdom well -- Nell Zink Another wonderful, funny slice of fiction from the author of best-seller, Love Nina. Her latest novel explores a decades-long friendship between two women and what happens when your paths diverge * Good Housekeeping, Books We're Looking Forward to in 2022 * Nina Stibbe's very funny novels are full of charm, and her latest brilliantly captures the mordant humour of British suburban life. Through the 90s to the present day, it follows Susan from her job in a haberdashery shop to working at the local university, and the ebbs and flows of her relationships with her husband and best friend * Evening Standard, Best Fiction Books to Look Forward to in 2022 * The wayward, wildly original and beautifully noticing sentences are perfectly cadenced . . . Despite the sparkling, satirical voice, and her laughter at the littleness of Little England, Stibbe creates a world in which tolerance and forgiveness are the key, even in these dark and scary times, to the possibility of a happy life * Daily Telegraph * It's a rare novel that makes me laugh out loud but Stibbe has a knack for extracting humour from everyday moments * Good Housekeeping, Books of the Month * In One Day I Shall Astonish The World by gifted comic writer Nina Stibbe, Susan and Norma have been best friends for 30 years, but when Norma's life takes an unforeseen turn, Susan begins to wonder if she's followed the wrong path in life- and in friendship * Daily Mirror, Brilliant Books in 2022 * One Day I Shall Astonish the World by the always entertaining Nina Stibbe is a story of female friendship * Irish Times, Books To Look Out For In 2022 * In April look out for...Love, Nina writer Nina Stibbe's One Day I Shall Astonish The World * Daily Mirror, What's Hot in 2022 * Nina Stibbe is one of the great comic writers of our time * Irish Times * Stibbe is one of the all-time greats * Daisy Buchanan * Very few writers can find the delicate balance between heartbreak and hilarity like Nina Stibbe * Red Magazine * Funny, charming, odd-in-the-best-way and gorgeously uplifting! A delight from start to finish * Marian Keyes on 'Reasons to be Cheerful' * Joyful. Stibbe's comedy probes what it means to become an adult * Daily Telegraph on 'Reasons to be Cheerful' * Pitch perfect vintage comedy * Guardian on 'Reasons to be Cheerful' * I love everything Nina Stibbe writes and this was my favourite of the novels. It's so sharp and painful and brilliantly funny. There are sentences you could eat for Christmas dinner. If you haven't read it already - you probably have but just in case - I really do think you'd love it -- Katherine Rundell As a comic novelist, Stibbe is so truly incomparable, I can only describe this perfect novel as Stibbe meets Stibbe, with a touch of Stibbe. (And if you love Nina Stibbe...you'll love this.) For as long as I could make it last, the world just felt a bit nicer. A true gift of a novel, I utterly adored it -- Meg Mason, author of SORROW AND BLISS