Preloved: A sparklingly witty and relatable debut novel

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Laugh-out-loud funny but also poignant and tender, Preloved is an absorbingly special debut novel. I devoured in equal measure the delicious descriptions of food and the moving vignettes of preloved treasures peppered throughout the book, while the nineties and noughties nostalgia had me gasping with pleasure.' Laura Price, author of Single Bald Female Not wanting to give much away, but I also really loved the story between Gwen and her parents, and how they are handling a personal loss that happened to them. I thought it was so well done. Preloved is full of sharp observations on life, loss, regret and self-preservation... spilling over with wit and hope. Cleverly interwoven with stories of the myriad reasons items find their way into charity shops, the joy, friendship and ultimate enlightenment Gwen discovers offers a quirky and poignant reminder that one person's trash is always somebody else's treasure." - Julietta Henderson

Preloved by Lauren Bravo | Goodreads Preloved by Lauren Bravo | Goodreads

Second of all, it’s fully your fault that I lost an entire day to this book instead of just reading it in bits over a few days, as I couldn’t bear to let it out of my hands until I’d finished. Gwen is in her thirty-eight years old, newly unemployed and trying to work out what to do with her life. She decides to volunteer in her local charity shop, where she meets a lot of interesting people and encounters many interesting items. The characters are beautifully described, especially Suze, Gwen’s childhood best friend. I really liked Gwen and could understand her confidence issues. Gwen decides to start where all things get a second chance: her local charity shop. There, with the help of the weird and wonderful people and donated items bursting with untold stories, Gwen will find a way to move forward with bravery, tenacity, and more regular dental care. Dazzlingly witty, Preloved is a tale about friendship, loss and being true to yourself no matter the expectations. Lovingly celebrating the enduring power and joy of charity shops.The short chapters that intersperse the main Gwen chapters tell the story of different people who use the charity shop for various reasons. The author's skillful observations of people and their idiosyncrasies add to the book's charm. As the story progresses, it becomes clear how these people link to Gwen and other characters in the book. This added an extra layer of satisfaction every time I recognised a character from the short interludes. When Gwen’s made redundant from a job she drifted into a decade ago and never left, she realises it’s time to make a change. Over what might be the best – and most solitary – meal she’s ever eaten, Gwen vows to find something meaningful to do with her life, reconnect with her family and friends – and finally book herself a dentist appointment. This offbeat novel hits the zetgeist notes of "reduce, re-use, recycle" within a charity shop where recently redundant Gwen volunteers after dropping off her own relics. We then follow Gwen as she haphazardly adopts the perhaps/maybe trope and applies the preloved way as to lead her own re-direction.

Preloved | Lauren Bravo | 9781398510623 | NetGalley Preloved | Lauren Bravo | 9781398510623 | NetGalley

Overall, Preloved is a heartwarming and humorous novel with great characters that I would recommend to anyone. I eagerly await Lauren Bravo's future releases.

Table of Contents

You have to prioritise work, family commitments, children, potentially partners, potentially ageing parents (over) friendships, and it becomes much harder. There can be a real disconnect between the friendships we imagined we would have and the friendships that we actually have.” As we watch Gwen clamber over familial relationships, potential romances and sex as well as as best friend who seems impossibly far away, Lauren believes “ Preloved is definitely a love story about friendships more than anything else.” Having unloaded her physical baggage at the charity shop she ends up starting a new journey, volunteering her time in the same shop where her engagement ring is now an item waiting to be loved by someone new. I'm going to quote Marian Keyes, who once said that she thinks that to give people a book that doesn't have a happy ending is just rude, which I agree with! You don't have to tie everything up neatly in a bow, but I needed ( Preloved) to be uplifting and hopeful too. I couldn't have spent a year and a half of my life writing a book that didn't have a hopeful conclusion. There is a glorious mix of characters that work alongside Gwen in the shop that help her in rediscovering life. Characters such as Nicholas who confuses Gwen as they go on a date to the National Gallery. She finds his boundless enthusiasm appealing and he seems to want to really know about her. Connie who works alongside Gwen is in her early sixties and very outspoken. She becomes a mother-figure for Gwen as she finds them spending more time together.

Lauren Bravo

Preloved is full of sharp observations on life, loss, regret and self-preservation... spilling over with wit and hope. Cleverly interwoven with stories of the myriad reasons items find their way into charity shops, the joy, friendship and ultimate enlightenment Gwen discovers offers a quirky and poignant reminder that one person's trash is always somebody else's treasure.' Julietta Henderson, author of The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman Gwen is floundering. She is let go from her job and had recently broken things off with her fiancé. Her relationship with her parents is somewhat estranged, and her close friends are all paired off. She decides to clean out her apartment and takes her unwanted items to a second hand store, and while there she decides to volunteer at the store while she lives off of her severance and contemplates what to do as a next step. Optimistic and engaging… intimate and joyful… We’re waiting for Preloved to be optioned by Reese Witherspoon or at least adapted into a binge-worthy Netflix series…’ Glamour Just like that once-in-a-lifetime charity shop find, Preloved is a gleaming prize to be treasured.' Caroline O'Donohue, author of Promising Young Woman I can see myself recommending this book to my fellow charity shop co-workers, and recommending it to people in general!Gwen is coasting through life. She’s in her mid-thirties, perpetually single, her friends are busy procreating in the countryside and conversations with her parents seem to revolve entirely around the council’s wheelie-bin timetable.

Preloved by Lauren Bravo | Goodreads

I feel like last year I read a fair few books about chaotic 20-somethings who don’t know what to do with their lives (sweet summer children) – so imagine my delight to read a novel about a middle-aged woman who doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life! Is 38 middle-aged? I’m turning 42 in a couple weeks and I deffo feel middle-aged, and also sort of have no idea what I’m doing… Brimming with life, love and the stories bound up in even the most everyday items, Preloved is a tale about friendship, loss, being true to oneself no matter the expectations – and the enduring power and joy of charity shops. Beautifully considered and wonderfully crafted with characters who feel true to life. Full of witty observations and dazzling retorts and withering reactions... it won't disappoint." - Justin MyersAs she is sitting in a restaurant eating a solo dinner to celebrate her birthday (thus showing us, the readers, the isolated life she has made for herself), she starts to put together a to-do list of all the tasks she has been avoiding for far too long. One of these chores is to dispose of the engagement ring that she has been holding on to since the abrupt ending of the relationship. She takes this, and other items she has been keeping, to a local charity shop and so starts the journey to her new life.