Review: Small Bomb at Dimperley

Book: Small Bomb at Dimperley

Author: Lissa Evans

First published: 2024

Current publisher: Penguin Audio

Format: audio book

Page count: 320 (8 hours and 27 minutes)

The physicals: Listened on my phone while sewing a quilt and recovering from Covid in March 2025

Procurement: Bought with my monthly Audible membership credit

Price: £7.99

This was such a tonic! I listened to it back in March and it was so relaxing and entertaining. A perfect book for when you're unwell and just want to be transported to another place and time. It's warm, funny, interesting, emotionally gripping in an understated way, and an all round great read. My favourite character, and the one I identified with the most, is Zena. A working-class woman who finds herself living and working in a big posh house in the country during the war. She has landed on her feet, and needed the job... but the war ends, and lives have to go back to "normal"... and what plays out is really lovely. Gentle jeopardy... romance... friendship... Sunday teatime stuff. Really hope to see it adapted for the telly because I think viewers would love it, and more people would discover the novel.

The audio book is read beautifully by actress Lucy Briers. (She played Mary Bennett in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.) Her narration is the best I've heard so far... clear and professional. All the characters were individualised without any caricature or exaggeration. If you've not tried an audio book before, this would be a great place to start.

Fabulous story, well read. Ten out of ten!

Shelf: Kept in my Audible library on my phone. Will probably listen to it again if another long illness strikes!

Would recommend to: Readers who enjoy intelligent and heart-warming literary fiction. Great for fans of second world war stories, romance, and country house settings.