A Hundred Small Lessons - Softcover

"If home is where the heart is, when does a house become a home--or, conversely, stop being one? Two women struggle to find the answer...Elsie's aging memories give the book a timeless sense of marriage and motherhood and perhaps a flicker of what Lucy may find in her future. The home that Elsie must give up with regret, Lucy must learn to love. This is typical of Hay who slowly weaves a tale of past and present lives, exploring the sense that the gap between the two women is not impervious to sensitive souls. Both Elsie and Lucy are finely and sympathetically drawn, and their lives highlight issues that affect many women. A cerebral tale, slow-moving but profound."--Kirkus

"A book that overflows with gratitude for the hard, beautiful things of this world, and for the saving worlds of our imagination."--Helen Garner, award-winning author of Everywhere I Look

"A luminous evocation of ordinary lives and the city that shapes them. Ashley Hay brings a pointillist eye to the daily miracles of love, of chance, of belonging."--Kristina Olsson "award-winning author of Boy, Lost "

Praise for A Hundred Small Lessons

"A reflective, mystical meditation on interconnectedness and shared experiences...that will prompt readers to reflect on how one life can be commingled with the past as well as be a first draft of the future."--Shelf Awareness, starred review

"Numerous scenes in this thoughtful novel will linger in the reader's memory...A lyrically written portrayal of the lives of two women tied together by memories and the house they share, A Hundred Small Lessons is sure to be enjoyed by readers of Kate Morton."--BookPage (Top Pick)

"Hay's prose is stunningly, shatteringly beautiful, and the emotional punch she delivers as the women's paths ultimately converge makes this seemingly quiet novel a breathless and powerful read."--San Francisco Book Review

"Hay truly encapsulates how our lives are interwoven. We are sent on a journey through the decades as small events and echoes of memories overlap, intersect and suddenly converge into a beautiful portrait spanning the past, present and future. Every word has a purpose and resonates...Readers will fall in love with the vivid landscapes of Brisbane and the impeccable, lyrical language that seeps from the pages."--RT Book Reviews

"If you haven't read anything by Ashley Hay, you are in for a treat her language is lyrical, the lives she creates are authentic, her words are a delight to read. This is another delightful book from a very talented writer."--WAMC Radio

"This contemplative novel explores the emotions of saying goodbye to a life of familiarity and embracing the unknown...Readers who loved the quiet introspection of Anita Shreve's The Pilot's Wife and Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge will enjoy the detailed emotional journeys of Hay's characters. Their stories will linger long after the final page is turned."--Library Journal

"Her intricately layered story, bolstered by perspectives of an old mother and a young one, tackles the thorny questions of what it means to become a parent and how it feels to be no longer needed as one. Lyrical and tenderhearted, this will delight fans of Liane Moriarty and Kate Hewitt."--Booklist

Ashley Hay is the internationally acclaimed author of the novels A Hundred Small Lessons, The Body in the Clouds, and The Railwayman's Wife, which was honored with the Colin Roderick Award by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the most prestigious literary prize in Australia, among numerous other accolades. She has also written four nonfiction books. She lives in Brisbane, Australia.