Islay's Terrace Studio & Shop
Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens | Paperback
Welcome to the Introvert Book Club! Our October pick is Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens.
What is the Introvert Book Club? It's a low-key, no meetings, no commitments, read-at-your-own-pace "book club." Learn more here! (PS: Not local? We can ship your book, too! Order it on its own and it will ship to you via media mail.)
-----------------------------------------
Why I picked this book: I wanted to pick a ghost story for October, but this is not your regular ghost story (you won’t be hiding under the covers.) It’s a reimagined history/historical fiction featuring Frederic Chopin and George Sand’s time in Mallorca, Spain… plus a teenage ghost. It’s witty, emotional and (dare I say it?) a delicious read.
Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens | Paperback
In 1473, fourteen-year-old Blanca dies in a hilltop monastery in Mallorca. Nearly four hundred years later, when George Sand, her two children, and her lover Frederic Chopin arrive in the village, Blanca is still there: a spirited, funny, righteous ghost, she’s been hanging around the monastery since her death, spying on the monks and the townspeople and keeping track of her descendants. Blanca is enchanted the moment she sees George, and the magical novel unfolds as a story of deeply felt, unrequited longing—a teenage ghost pining for a woman who can’t see her and doesn’t know she exists.
Nell Stevens is the author of Bleaker House and The Victorian & the Romantic, which won the 2019 Somerset Maugham Award. She was shortlisted for the 2018 BBC National Short Story Award. Nell is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Warwick.
Sending your purchase direct to a friend or loved one? I'm happy to wrap it as a gift!
- Our gift packaging includes colorful tissue paper and recycled shredded paper (if it's an item that's boxed and not shipped flat).
- We'll also remove any price tags.
- I can also include a hand-written gift note.
To mark your order as a gift:
- Use the message box at checkout to let us know it's a gift and include your requested gift message. If you forget this step, just email Homesliceshop@gmail.com within an hour of ordering.