{"product_id":"9780007365791","title":"Something Beginning With","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the great hidden gems of the past decade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten in brief entries from ‘Ambition’ to ‘Zzzzz’ Salway's confident debut novel chronicles the existential ups and downs of British 20-something Verity Bell.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe alphabetically arranged mini-chapters make for an inventive and episodic narrative, as Verity muses on her career (A is for Attitude: \"I work as a secretary in the media… something I don't always talk about because some people seem to think I'm showing off\"), her friendship with the fabulous Sally (B is for Best Friends: \"my best friend, Sally, has become the mistress of a millionaire called Colin\"), her feelings on Gwyneth Paltrow (G is for You-Know-Who: \"If I looked like Gwyneth Paltrow, nothing could possibly go wrong in my life\") and other issues of love, friendship and family.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith both parents deceased, Verity clings to Sally as a sort of substitute family, but struggles with her insecurities and her envy of Sally's ‘perfect’ existence. She falls madly in love with a married man but, unsurprisingly, their steamy affair is not the solution to Verity's problems; rather, it exacerbates her self-doubt as she plays second fiddle to the wife and children.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUltimately, Verity's life takes an unexpected turn, and she emerges a stronger and more creative woman. Salway wraps her bright, comic writing in bite-sized chunks that make this first novel an easy-reading pleasure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst published in 2004 to considerable critical acclaim – Neil Gaiman called Sarah ‘an astonishingly smart writer’ and Sainsbury’s magazine hailed the book as ‘a Bridget Jones for our times’ – Something Beginning With became a cult classic. By which we mean a book that didn’t sell a huge amount but nearly everyone who did buy it loved it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe are delighted to be able to include Something Beginning With as one of the launch titles for The Library of Lost Books. Sarah has a considerable online following and her debut novel has been unavailable for some time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sarah Salway","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47284953874581,"sku":"9780007365791","price":7.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780007365791.png?v=1776992202","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780007365791","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}