Sarah Conley

How it reads

Sarah Conley is contemporary fiction (women's fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is melancholy. It's quietly sad, wistful and reflective. It's a slow burn: character-driven, with a payoff that comes from accumulation rather than twists. It rewards attention and suits unhurried reading more than five-minute gaps.

It's set in several locations, in the present day, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are identity, love and class and society. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. At 259 pages it's a quick read. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.