Lillian on Life (Paperback) - Alison Jean Lester

Life and love lessons as told by sassy narrator Lillian as she looks back in this brilliantly written, bold debut.

'I absolutely loved it. A delight . . . so fresh and clever and subversive' Kate Atkinson

'I completely loved Lillian on Life. What a great voice, what energy and wit . . . very original and often extremely funny' Karen Joy Fowler

Lillian, a single, well-travelled woman of a certain age, wakes up next to her married lover and looks back at her life. It's not at all the life she expected.

Walking the unpaved road between traditional and modern options for women, Lillian has grappled with parental disappointment, society's expectations and the vagaries of love and sex. As a narrator she's bold and witty, and her reflections - from 'On Getting to Sex' to 'On the Importance of Big Pockets' or 'On Leaving in Order to Stay' - reverberate originally and unpredictably.

In Lillian on Life, Alison Jean Lester has created a brutally honest portrait of a woman living through the post-war decades of change in Munich, Paris, London and New York. Her story resonates with the glamour and energy of those cities. Charming, sometimes heartbreaking, never a stereotype, Lillian is completely herself; her view of the world is unique. You won't soon forget her.

About the Author

Alison Jean Lester was born in the United States and has variously grown up, studied, worked, written and raised her two children in the US, the UK, China, Italy, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore. She currently lives with her family in Singapore. Lillian on Life is her first novel.