{"product_id":"9781398510654","title":"Preloved","description":"Author: Lauren Bravo\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781398510654\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Simon \u0026amp; Schuster UK\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 15 May 2024\u003cbr\u003ePages: 448 \u003cbr\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA love story about things... \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\n Gwen’s life has stalled. She’s in her mid-thirties, perpetually single, her friends are busy procreating in the country and conversations with her parents seem to revolve entirely around herbaceous borders and the council’s wheelie-bin timetable. Above all she’s lonely. But then, isn’t everyone?\u003cbr\u003e\n\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n\n When Gwen’s made redundant from a job she drifted into a decade ago and never left, she realises it’s time to make a change. Over what might be the best – and most solitary – meal she’s ever eaten, Gwen vows to find something meaningful to do with her life, reconnect with her family and friends – and finally book herself a dentist appointment.\u003cbr\u003e\n\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n\n Her search for meaning soon leads her to volunteer in a local charity shop where she both literally and metaphorically unloads her emotional baggage. With the help of the weird and wonderful people she meets in the shop and the donated items bursting with untold stories that pass through its doors, Gwen must finally address the events and choices that led her to this point and find a way to move forward with bravery, humanity and more regular dental care.\u003cbr\u003e\n\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eBrimming with life, love and the stories bound up in even the most everyday items, \u003ci\u003ePreloved\u003c\/i\u003e is a tale about friendship, loss, being true to oneself no matter the expectations – and the enduring power and joy of charity shops.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003ePreloved\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\n 'A heartwarming tale of friendship, loss and being true to yourself, regardless of expectations' \u003ci\u003eRed \u003c\/i\u003emagazine\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\n 'I think I’ve been waiting for a novel like \u003ci\u003ePreloved\u003c\/i\u003e for my whole reading life. This is a luscious, shimmering book of depth and delicacy. It’s sad, hilarious, sad, tender, brutal, brilliantly observed – there is a sense of magic on every page' Daisy Buchanan, author of \u003ci\u003eInsatiable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\n '\u003ci\u003ePreloved\u003c\/i\u003e is full of sharp observations on life, loss, regret and self-preservation . . . spilling over with wit and hope. Cleverly interwoven with stories of the myriad reasons items find their way into charity shops, the joy, friendship and ultimate enlightenment Gwen discovers offers a quirky and poignant reminder that one person's trash is always somebody else's treasure' Julietta Henderson, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Funny Thing about Norman Foreman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\n 'Just like that once-in-a-lifetime charity shop find, \u003ci\u003ePreloved \u003c\/i\u003eis a gleaming prize to be treasured. Lauren Bravo is witty and thoughtful in her exploration of our relationship with objects and trends, believing that – just as a pair of shoes can have many, many lives – so can the people that wear them' Caroline O'Donoghue, author of \u003ci\u003ePromising Young Woman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\n 'Laugh-out-loud funny but also poignant and tender,\u003ci\u003e Preloved\u003c\/i\u003e is an absorbingly special debut novel. I devoured in equal measure the delicious descriptions of food and the moving vignettes of preloved treasures peppered throughout the book, while the nineties and noughties nostalgia had me gasping with pleasure' Laura Price, author of \u003ci\u003eSingle Bald Female\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n\n 'Full of relatable anecdotes, lively, funny and modern,\u003ci\u003e Preloved \u003c\/i\u003eis a moving tale of emancipation and friendship. I loved it!' Margaux Vialleron, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Yellow Kitchen\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46601205186718,"sku":"HPC-9781398510654","price":22.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781398510654.jpg?v=1773293387","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781398510654","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}