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‘Clever, warm and funny’ – ADAM KAY
‘Beautifully rendered, thoughtful and original’ – Pandora Sykes
‘A marvellous read’ – Ruth Hogan
Ada is a widowed writer, navigating loneliness in Oxford after the death of her husband. She has no children. No grandchildren. She fears she is becoming peripheral, another invisible woman.
Eliza is a student at the university. She finds it difficult to form meaningful relationships after the estrangement of her mother and breakup with her girlfriend.
After meeting through Ada’s new venture, ‘Rent-a-Gran’, and bonding over Lapsang Souchong tea and Primo Levi, they begin to find what they’re looking for in each other. But can they cast off their isolation for good?
An exquisite story of connection and loss, and how a person can change another person’s life. Full of heartache yet joyful and life-affirming, this is for fans of Normal People, Expectation and Sarah Winman’s Tin Man.
‘Leaf’s writing is warm and lyrically funny – she has an eye for details both sublime and ridiculous.Looking for Eliza is an intelligent and big-hearted read with the human condition at its core.’ – Harriet Walker, The Times
‘Beautifully rendered, thoughtful and original’ – Pandora Sykes
‘A marvellous read’ – Ruth Hogan
Ada is a widowed writer, navigating loneliness in Oxford after the death of her husband. She has no children. No grandchildren. She fears she is becoming peripheral, another invisible woman.
Eliza is a student at the university. She finds it difficult to form meaningful relationships after the estrangement of her mother and breakup with her girlfriend.
After meeting through Ada’s new venture, ‘Rent-a-Gran’, and bonding over Lapsang Souchong tea and Primo Levi, they begin to find what they’re looking for in each other. But can they cast off their isolation for good?
An exquisite story of connection and loss, and how a person can change another person’s life. Full of heartache yet joyful and life-affirming, this is for fans of Normal People, Expectation and Sarah Winman’s Tin Man.
‘Leaf’s writing is warm and lyrically funny – she has an eye for details both sublime and ridiculous.Looking for Eliza is an intelligent and big-hearted read with the human condition at its core.’ – Harriet Walker, The Times
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Reviews
A joyous, big-hearted novel about community - just the tonic for our times
This is an exquisite story of connection and loss, and how we can change another person's life. Full of heartache, yet joyful and life-affirming
A promising debut
A love story of intergenerational friendship that is perfect for these divisive times. Leaf's writing is warm and lyrically funny - she has an eye for details both sublime and ridiculous. Looking for Eliza is an intelligent and big-hearted read with the human condition at its core.
This lovely, consoling hug of a novel is a tonic for our times.
I've never read a love story quite like Looking for Eliza, and it has absolutely stolen my heart. This tale of two intelligent, charming, eccentric, and lonely women who reach across a generational gap in order to create a beautiful friendship with each other filled me with joy, delight, and pathos. How beautifully Leaf Arbuthnot has shown us that the one we've been looking for our whole lives might be living right across the street, quietly working in her garden. I loved this book.
A heart-rending book about connection and the optimism of the human heart
Beautifully rendered, thoughtful and original
Never has a book about cross-generational friendship and looking out for your neighbours been more timely
A tender-hearted tale of the redeeming power of friendship.
A wonderful story about the redemptive power of an unexpected friendship. Leaf's characters are fresh, engaging and beautifully drawn. A marvellous read.
Leaf Arbuthnot's debut novel is a warm-hearted tale of friendship across the generations
Clever, warm and funny
A heartfelt story about an unlikely friendship