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A Special Providence
A Special Providence
Nov 30, 2025 2:03 AM

Author:Richard Yates

A Special Providence

Bobby is eighteen and lost on the battlefields of Europe, stumbling his way through World War II. He has turned out to be the heroic soldier he imagined and his experience of battle principally involves fear and confusion. Back home, his mother Alice puts all her hopes in her son, and dreams of his return and starting a new life for them both.

Richard Yates's novel is both tender and ironic as he follows Bobby's adventures and disasters and reflects on the intense but complicated bond between mother and son.

Reviews

A beautiful book

—— Joan Didion

Wonderful

—— Andre Dubus

So quotidian, so possible, so plausible, that it is more terrifying to read...than to read of the disasters and massacres of kings

—— Harper's

Every good writer I know acknowledges Yates as a master

—— Kurt Vonnegut

Yates's trademark blackness does not seem out of place or excessive... the skilful sketches of Prentice's colleagues bring an element of humanity to a sordid and inhumane topic

—— Leyla Sanai , www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com

Mesmerically readable... A revelation

—— The Times

A shocking backdrop if recent historical events, Andrea Eames has used a fresh, candid voice to create an intimate, sensitive and moving debut novel

—— Tina Jackson , Metro

In this assured debut novel, Eames draws on her own interrupted childhood...to paint an authentic portrait of a nation on the edge

—— Emma Hagestadt , Independent

The Cry of the Go-Away Bird is a promising debut novel, and Eames's own Zimbabwean childhood colours her writing with vivid descriptions of the earth, wildlife and Shona language

—— Syndicated Review across National Press

Diary of an Ordinary Woman is certainly more gripping and more immediate than many novels...Forster has pulled off an imaginative feat

—— Literary Review

Captivating... Like a beloved granny's visit, we're a little bit sorry to see the end approaching

—— Irish Times

This rich novel, full of pathos, concerns the unbridgeable gaps between generations

—— Daily Telegraph

Faulks's most vivid character is the odious John Veals, a hedge-fund manager, who relishes all the money that he makes and the power that he quietly exerts... Veals is brilliantly insidious... A thoughtful page-turner... The handsome sunset is heavily, and rightly, weighed down by dark clouds

—— The Times

A tragedy at sea, a miracle on paper... Moore offers us, elegantly, exultantly, the very consciousness of her characters. In this way, she does more than make us feel for them. She makes us feel what they feel, which is the point of literature and maybe even the point of being human.

—— Globe and Mail

This mesmerising book is full of tears, and is a graceful meditation on how to survive life's losses

—— Marie Claire

Fans of Anita Shreve and Anne Enright will love this

—— Viv Groskop , Red Magazine

The gentle, meandering pace of this exquisitely expresses the agony of grief and the confusions and complexities of parental love

—— Easy Living

Moore's portrayal of loss is remarkably real

—— Clare Longrigg , Psychologies

Profoundly moving, beautifully written book

—— Waterstone's Books Quarterly

A marvellous book

—— Winnipeg Free Press

A perfectly pitched novel that captures its characters and their dilemmas.

—— Woman and Home

Lose yourself in a fantastical gastronomical journey ... This novel explores familial love in an unexpected way, and you'll be hooked from the first taste

—— She

This emotional and moving tale blew us away with its beauty

—— Bella

It's as beautiful as it is strange. Bender writes such lyrical sentences, you pause over them in wonder. She has an unusual take on life; and makes even the ordinary extraordinary. It's a compulsive page turner. This book is already a best seller in America, and has been embraced by book clubs. I loved it. It's one of those books you don't want to finish - and even when you have - it stays in your mind. Bender has written three previous novels. I intend to savour them all

—— Irish Examiner

This novel, in the style of stories like Chocolat, is a dreamy feast of gorgeous writing ... Gently, beautiful, odd, this is a story to sip and savour

—— Dublin Evening Herald

An intriguing premise for an original novel about a family and its relationships

—— Good Book Guide

Moving and highly original, this book will make you look at food in a whole new light

—— Star
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