I was looking forward to reading this book as I enjoyed Isaac and the Egg immensely. I wasn't disappointed, in fact I liked it even more . It still had the quirks of his first book but also a warm, poignant human story about relationships. The loss of the closeness in families and how it can be overcome.
Well written, enjoyable book.

Some reviews are so hard to write, and this is one of them. Another piece of authentic contemporary fiction from the author of Isaac and the Egg. This time for Isaac read Jack this time for the Egg read the Fox, but that’s where the similarity ends. Jack left home a long time ago, he was unable to communicate with his father and much as he loved his mother and younger sister, he felt out of place. Jack is a bit of a loner and after losing a job of which he was so proud he was devastated. At the same time his sister Charlotte contacted him to say their mother had gone missing and he needed to come home. This book is written in a really unusual style, it’s almost like two separate books interwoven with each other. Each character has its own voice and is told in different ways, some straightforward narrative but other more poetic and ethereal.

Briefly, Jack is beginning to doubt his own sanity, after saving the Fox and believing that it spoke to him as he was taken away by animal rescue! Arriving at the family home ‘Mole End’ he finds his father Gerry confused and sad, his sister Charlotte angry with him and his mother Hazel gone, and nobody knows where. But Fox finds him again and gradually Jack accepts their conversations and the help Fox gives him come to terms with his latent anger against his father.

It is clear that Gerry is suffering from some unnamed form of dementia and his thoughts are by far the most moving, my mother lived with dementia and I wonder now what thoughts ran through her head in her almost silent world. The Fox was wonderful, a special creature there to help Jack in his hour of need, although not the only creature you will meet. You can’t pigeonhole this book - it’s a family drama, a fantasy, a moving story of lost years and repressed emotion. I probably didn’t get all the subtle nuances but that’s fine. I still loved it.

If you have read Isaac and the Egg, the previous book by Palmer, then you will have an inkling of what to expect from this one. If you are new to his books, then prepare for something somewhat different, an astonishingly beautiful and touching book, a story of family, of love and regret, coupled with an element of fantasy and a tribute to the healing power of nature.

Jack Fenwick lives to work, and is devastated when the company he works for is sold and he loses his job. Whilst walking around town trying to process the implications, he comes across an injured fox – this proves to be no ordinary fox, but one that will change his life.

When his sister calls him to say his mother Hazel is missing and ask for his help, he knows that he must make a long overdue return to his parents’ house – and whilst there must rebuild the fractured relationships with his father, now suffering from dementia, and his sister, whilst trying to find out what happened to his mother. And remarkably it is the fox who helps both Jack and his father open up and ultimately understand each other and bring the family back together.

If that all sounds a little too ‘out there’, which I will confess it did to me initially, I nevertheless urge you to give it a go as despite it being hard to articulate, in the talented hands of Palmer it just works …..

The writing is just so beautiful and so clever in the way in which it moves between different formats to capture multiple points of view, including that of the fox, and the descriptions of nature are just gorgeous. Palmer does a remarkable job of capturing Gerry’s failing memory and jumbled thoughts and there is so much emotion in the family’s journey to come back together. It is clever, it is different but it is oh so touching.

3.5 Stars

Jack Penwick a country boy born and bred has been living in the City, shaken off his small town country living, became a workaholic city dweller and all that encapsulates. His world comes tumbling down when the company is sold. Jack goes into shock, he thought he was indispensable.
Jack at the same time as receiving his devastating news gets a phone call from his sister Charlotte, their mother has gone. Where?

I have found this book slightly tricky to review as it boils down to my feelings rather than a storyline, but my interpretation of the book is that it is all about the feelings and emotions.
Jack was raised by his parents Gerry and Hazel, and some years later the family is completed with the addition of his sister Charlotte.
Gerry has memory problems, an undiagnosed situation, which could potentially be heading in the direction of Dementia or Alzheimer’s?
I liked Gerry’s character the best, I thought the wording from Gerry’s thoughts of his situation were written wonderfully, very thoughtful. Poignant. Gerry’s thoughts were the highlight of the book for me.
Jack and his father Gerry have a strained relationship, they don’t know how to communicate with each other. The talking fox that Jack rescues becomes a go between to a little extent. I actually get the idea of the talking fox and how it fits into the storyline amidst the other whole host of birds, animals and wildlife. An affinity with nature and animals, being outdoors.
A very good and expressive way of describing how a person with early onset memory problems may be feeling.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

Small Hours by Bobby Palmer

I received an advanced copy thanks to @netgalley

If you have read Bobby's first book, Isaac and the Egg then you will know that Bobby's imagination has no limits.

I was super keen to get my hands on this book before it released so I could delve into another strange world! This book follows Jack, his mum and dad and sister as they rejoin as a family, their dynamic has changed and not for the better. Throughout this book Jack battles with his internal monologue of being an outsider to his family and being a part of it whilst Jack's dad sadly suffers the beginnings of memory loss.

If you are searching for the wild imagination this enters in the form of talking animals that Jack and his dad can communicate with. Now we have all seen films with talking animals so this factor of the book didn't grip me as much as Isaac and the Egg did.

I enjoyed this book and the story behind it, a story of loss and coming back together, to understand your family will be there no matter what the past, but it didn't have the same emotions for me as Isaac. I felt like something was missing but I can't quite place it.

I still feel this is a worthy read and the storyline itself is strong but I missed that slightly out there imagination this time.

My rating:
⭐⭐⭐

Small hours releases in hardback on Thursday 14 March 2024

I struggled with this book. After reading Isaac and the Egg, I was so looking forward to it. However a talking fox from the outset didn’t sit well with me and I kept waiting for something to happen. Unfortunately nothing of any note did happen. Maybe it was just too slow paced for me.

I thing this would appeal to a particular audience but unfortunately I am not one of them

I enjoyed Isaac and The Egg when it was released last year and so was delighted to be approved for a digital ARC of Small Hours. Jack is a young man who has lost his job and sense of reason in the big city and whilst taking an urgent phone call from his sister, he finds an injured fox that he helps. This fox turns out to be incredibly important to him on his return to the family home in a small village. Jack discovers that his mother Hazel has gone missing and that his father Gerry is struggling with declining memory loss. And then there’s his somewhat disgruntled sister Charlotte, trying to hold things together. Jack and Gerry have drifted apart over the years and both struggle being thrown together again. However, they both have their memories of their younger days and the times they spent in nature in the Small Hours of morning daybreak.
This is an incredibly beautifully written story. We have several voices in this book- Gerry’s trying to make sense of the world, Jack’s, a young man trying to find his way and the incredible fox, who is really central to the story. At the heart is family dynamics, identity, love and loss- how parents change with the arrival of children, how your relationship changes with your family over time and you deal with a parent who has declining memory loss. This is all handled so sensitively that it was really poignant.
Mention is also due for the picturesque descriptions of the English countryside and nature. Palmer had done a lot of research to detail this so intricately and it really helped to create a strong visual image.
I think Palmer has really shown his versatility as a writer with this novel and I look forward to what he chooses to write about next.

Living in London and freshly unemployed, Jack is called back to his rural family home to help with a
family crisis. What follows is a story that magnifies the bittersweet emotions that can arise from being a
son, daughter, sibling, child and parent, and also who we are outside of those labels.

From the off, this seems a more accessible story than in Palmer's book, 'Isaac and the Egg', as a talking
fox seems less of an imaginative leap than the unusual character we met in his debut novel. The
emotions he manages to evoke in his reader this time around are no less powerful, however.

The skill of Palmer's writing is that you don't necessarily have to had the same experiences as Jack to
really feel for him and his family members as their stories are told. The device of a talking fox gives the
book a much appreciated lift, providing some comic relief amongst the heavier topics the book deals
with.

This is another brilliant, completely emotive novel from Palmer. His ability to combine the devastating
with the comical and absurd is unsurpassed.

With thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy of 'Small Hours' on which this
review is based.

This authors first book, Isaac and the Egg, was a very memorable read, so I was looking forward to reading this.

Jack is having a pretty rubbish day... bad news at work, coming across an injured fox then getting a worrying phone call from his sister meaning he has to head back to his childhood home to face up to the issues that he has been running from for too long.

I don't want to say much more as I believe going into this knowing as little as possible would be better, but it is a beautifully written, character-driven story about family and the sacrifices you make for those you love. I found it particularly poignant to read the chapters from Gerry's point of view after having family members suffer with dementia. Enlightening and heartbreaking, but done in a sensitive way.

Bobby Palmer has done it again; after the stunning and original Isaac and the Egg we now have Small Hours, a story of how a family reconnects over a few days with help from a very special fox.

Jack is an introverted workaholic who has deliberately disconnected from his family after his father withdrew his affection in his teens, following the death of his brother.
One traumatic and bizarre day when he loses his job, rescues a fox and then hears the fox speaking to him, things become even more awful when his sister calls to say his mother has gone missing.
Reluctantly returning to the family’s country home, he has to face his father’s dementia and his sister’s anger at his desertion. Even worse, no one knows where his mother is. Somehow the family needs to bond again, and his fox has followed him to try and help.
This book is so beautifully written, the description of the country and the animals are incredibly evocative. The fox is an extraordinary creature, and gives the book a unique centre. The simmering anger from all members of the family is brilliantly written - you can emphasise with them all. Several chapters are written from the point of view of Gerald as he battles with dementia. The frustrations of his inability to communicate and memory lapses are portrayed with great sensitivity.
This is an incredible book - it’s sad, charming, uplifting and witty all at the same time, I can’t imagine a single person that wouldn’t get something from it.

Excuse me while I wipe the tears from my eyes and really take in what I've just read.

Small Hours, written is the follow up book to the brilliant Isaac and the Egg and is nothing short of breathtaking. The descriptions of the British countryside, the woods and the animals are so beautifully written I felt transported there. The characters, all troubled, are full formed people in my head and I'm going to miss them so much.

And the fox. The fox! I can't even.....

Small Hours is going to the top of my favourite read of 2024 list so far and is really high up in my favourite reads of all time. Bobby Palmer is such a talent. The way he represented the muddled thoughts of a man whose memories are fading was frankly remarkable. I really felt the loss and got a sense of perspective of what somebody having to deal with that must go through. Truly heartbreaking.

Occasionally I get a book hangover and need to think for a spell before I pick my next read and this is one of those moments. It was written so thoughtfully, so nuanced in style, each word picked carefully and perfectly. I'm in love with these characters, their home and their location.

Finally, I just have to mention the book cover, which is absolutely stunning.

Thanks to Headline & Netgalley for providing an e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Will be getting a print copy of this for my collection.

In his follow up to Isaac and the Egg, Bobby Palmer has given us another little slice of magic. Small Hours takes a dejected and insular protagonist, adds a talking fox, and weaves them together into a beautiful story about redemption, sacrifice and the complexities of love. His unique style that we saw in his debut novel endures through this one, proving that he can turn the weirdest ideas* into works of art. At once thoughtful, and whimsical, this book was truly a joy to read. I already can’t wait for Bobby Palmer’s third novel!

*his words, not mine! (in the acknowledgments)

Although I did prefer ISAAC AND THE EGG, SMALL HOURS still had that gentle sadness that I loved in Palmer's debut. This book is quiet and sweet and soft and I lovely book to read. Palmer has such a way with capturing male emotions that is such a pleasure. Would definitely recommend!

A very moving story from the author of Isaac and the Egg. This is a deeply emotional book about dementia and family but also an ode to nature. One to pull on your heartstrings, get the tissues ready before reading!

Small Hours is a book on family drama. The prose is beautiful and the writing style is unique. I liked the story of Gerry, but Hazel's story stayed with me the most. Her narrative gave me a lot to think about, be thankful for and work on, so that I won't feel how she felt in the story.

I liked reading the book, but It can be slow at times and repetitive in some places.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was delighted when I saw that Bobby Palmer had written a second book, as Isaac and the Egg was definitely one of my favourite books of 2022. I then delayed reading it as I was concerned it may not live up to my expectations; but I need not have worried, it was every bit as brilliant as I had hoped!
Small Hours is about Jack, his family and a fox. Jack returns to his family home in the country when he receives a telephone call from his sister, Charlotte, to say that their mother, Hazel, is missing. Jack is reluctant to return home, it will be his first visit for many years. He has a difficult relationship with his father, Gerry, who now has problems with his memory. Jack returns and realises the full extent of the problems. How will matters progress? Just where does the talking fox fit in? Will Jack be able to smooth matters over with his father before it is too late? Will Hazel be found?
Another excellent and beautiful book by Bobby Palmer. If you liked Isaac and the Egg, or if you’re new to this author, buy this book. You won’t be disappointed.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved having 3 voices in this book. I loved the dad’s chapters the best, so poetically written. I almost didn’t care about the plot and just loved the character relationships

This is such a moving read about families and what can happen when communication fails. It’s about Gerry and Hazel and their children Jack and Charlotte. Jack has been gone for quite awhile and suddenly he loses his job and comes back to the family home in the country to his father who has dementia and his mother who had gone missing. We have the most beautiful descriptions of nature and wildlife. Throughout the novel we discover family secrets and how the silence has drove Jack apart from his father. The language is very poetic especially the sections where Gerry is thinking. Throughout all this we have a talking fox who onlyGerry and Jack can hear. He tries to guide Jack through his feelings , he seems real but is he ? It’s a story about family, grief, illness, hope and love. I really enjoyed it .

Bobby Palmer's done it again, this book was emotional, captivating and beautifully written. I tried not to compare it too much to Isaac and the Egg as they're completely separate books, but I did find myself recognising the same descriptive language that pulled me in so much to Bobby Palmer's debut novel. As a city dweller myself, Small Hours held up a mirror to my lifestyle and made me really aware of my disconnect with nature, and I really appreciate the level of research that went into that aspect of this book as it's definitely encouraged me to get outside more. Overall it was a really engaging, heartwarming read and I would absolutely recommend it.

Another endlessly moving, quirky and heartfelt book from Bobby Palmer. Following the Penwick family over this brief period was an experience in love, grief, memory, and life. The family members were finding their way, and finding their way back to each other at a time when things are changing for each of them individually and for them as a family. Palmer isn’t afraid to explore the darker sides of life in his writing, and he does it so beautifully that you’re pulled right into the story and see these characters as real people, navigating the same experiences as we are in their lives.

We spend the most time with Jack in this story, stepping into his shoes as his world is turned upside down and the future he’d carefully cultivated for himself dissolves in an instant. Then, a call from his sister has him returning to his family home, to his estranged father and to the search for his missing mother. His only friend, a fox, a tether in the storm he’s found himself in. Between Jack’s narratives, we experience Gerry and Hazel’s past, their adventures, greatly contrasted with their present narratives - Gerry unwell, and deteriorating, and Hazel longing for adventure before it’s too late. We see this family as it began and the new future mapped out for them, one in some ways better, and in some ways worse than what they had expected.

Bobby Palmer has followed up his debut with another fantastic book and I look forward to seeing what stories he brings us next, and what unusual characters he offers to guide his characters through their difficulties.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.