Sipsworth - by Simon Van Booy (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Over the course of a single week in a small English village, a widowed octogenarian who has spent her last years alone, ready to die, discovers an unexpected reason to live. After living abroad for sixty years, Helen Cartwright returns to the English town where she was born. She buys a nondescript suburban house on Westminster Crescent, a nondescript suburban street, and settles into a repetitive, reclusive existence: "Each day was an impersonation of the one before with only a slight shuffle-as though even for death there is a queue." Three uneventful, lonely years later, Helen's life takes a sudden turn when an unexpected guest arrives: a small, good-natured mouse. With his trademark compassion and uncanny attention to detail, Simon Van Booy illuminates not only the sustaining friendship forged between widower and mouse, but the reverberations of goodness that ripple out from acts of kindness"--

Book Synopsis

"Beautiful and enchanting"--Washington Post

Sometimes a second chance comes in the most unexpected way....

Following the loss of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. She retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit: "Each day was an impersonation of the one before with only a slight shuffle--as though even for death there is a queue."

Then, one cold winter night, a chance encounter with a mouse sets Helen on a surprising journey. Over the course of two weeks in a small English town, this reclusive widow discovers an unexpected reason to live.

Sipsworth is a reminder that there is always reason for hope. No matter what we have planned for ourselves, sometimes life has plans of its own. With profound compassion, Simon Van Booy illuminates not only a deep friendship forged between two lonely creatures, but the reverberations of goodness that ripple out from that unique bond.

Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR SIPSWORTH

American Library Association Notable Book: Best Fiction 2025

"Simon Van Booy has performed another small literary miracle....trenchant and beautiful....countless passages beguile and move us."
--Washington Post

"A gorgeously odd tale about finding yourself again, unexpectedly. If you want a little piece of joy in your reading life, buy it."

--Jojo Moyes

"In its quiet, loving way, Sipsworth feels as rare and special as a friend."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Sipsworth is a love story about a woman and a mouse. Reason suggests that such a relationship couldn't possibly work, and yet I found myself pulling for this unlikely duo on every page. Simon Van Booy's characters are loaded with charm, resilience, and the deep desire for connection that all mammals share. I loved it."
--Ann Patchett

"A memorable story about serendipity--and what can happen when we keep our hearts open to surprise."
--Christian Science Monitor

"Whimsical, beautifully detailed, and filled with heart, Sipsworth is a slim, sparkling jewel of a novel."
--Christina Baker Kline

"Enchanting . . . fresh and often funny, thanks to the author's artful prose."
--Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

"Charming . . . generous . . . vibrant . . . reveal[s] something profound about the human need for connection."
--Foreword Reviews (starred review)

"Hypnotic prose . . . a surprising and heartwarming tale about loss and love . . . an extraordinary work of fiction based in everyday humanity."
--Joan Baum, Baum on Books, WSHU Public Radio

"Through tears, laughter, joy, and pain, I just couldn't stop reading this novel about friendship and second chances. Sipsworth is a marvel--storytelling at its absolute finest."
--Marc Levy

ALSO BY SIMON VAN BOOY

The Presence of Absence

"Flows with depth and power....From its outset, The Presence of Absence runs blood-rich with declarations that make you inhale sharply....wide-open wonder."
--Washington Post

"Rich in setting and emotion. As ever with Van Booy, the reader is in good hands."

--Publishers Weekly

"Simon Van Booy electrifyingly combines story with parable. The Presence of Absence boggles and reverberates: wise, witty and always breathtakingly beautiful."
--San Francisco Chronicle, Best Fiction of the Year

"With its elegant passages on love and the fallibility of memory . . . this indelible portrait of transience, sorrow and hope will move readers."
--Shelf Awareness

Night Came with Many Stars

"It is a heartbreaking book, a gorgeous book...In Night Came with Many Stars, Van Booy finds the weakness, grace and beauty of common lives fully lived."
--NPR, "Books We Love"

"Not to miss!"
--USA Today

"Kindness and raw luck undergird Night Came with Many Stars--echoing the trials and windfalls of Oliver Twist or David Copperfield. And like Dickens's young heroes, Van Booy's determined souls act with their whole hearts--as does this brave, fierce novel--to earn what good may come."
--Boston Globe

"Van Booy is a beautiful storyteller, and his latest offering is no exception."
--New York Post, "Best new books"