Buy Second Self here
‘Magnificent’ The i Paper | ‘Tender and acutely observed’ Mail on Sunday | ‘Poignant’ Glamour | ‘Beautifully nuanced’ Marie Claire
When Cathy and Noah first got together neither saw children in their future. Eight years later, they’re happily married – and Cathy isn’t so sure.
With Noah’s patience for his wife’s ambivalence waning, her widowed mother in a world of her own, and her best friend yearning for a second baby, Cathy feels increasingly adrift. Escaping into her work in the conservation studios of the National Gallery, she chips away at the layers of overpaint on a canvas from the collection. Will the discovery of an unexpected truth help her find the clarity she craves?
Second Self is a novel about confronting expectations, and learning to cope with the nagging, complex questions that shape a life. It’s about minds and bodies at the mercy of natural forces and social pressure. Above all, it’s an ode to big decisions, small, tender moments, and how we choose to be.
praise for SECOND SELF
‘A magnificent novel about big decisions, social pressures, complex questions and finding clarity in the face of uncertainty’
The i Paper
‘Tender and acutely observed... Second Self is a moving exploration of the choices that shape a life’
Mail on Sunday
‘A poignant and beautifully written second novel’
Glamour
‘Ashby should be applauded for the nuance with which she portrays the choices available to women’
Times Literary Supplement
‘Ashby is a distinguished art critic as well as a novelist, and so it is appropriate that in her second novel she should explore the personal travails of her main characters with all the insight and compassion that she brings to her criticism’
The Observer
‘Neat and quiet, this is a novel in which many women will be glad to find themselves reflected’
Daily Mail
‘A beautifully nuanced portrait of a woman at a crossroads. Hard recommend’
Marie Claire
‘Having established a name for herself as a talented art critic for the national press, Chloë Ashby employs her expertise with illuminating effect in her fiction’
Spectator
‘Second Self is a thoughtful exploration of one of the most difficult decisions a person can make. Ashby handles her material lightly and atmospherically. It feels like reading the secret thoughts of a dear friend’
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
‘An elegantly subtle novel about motherhood, marriage and choice – I’m sure it will resonate with many’
Claire Powell
‘A thoughtful, tender and delicate consideration of life’s choices. This is a story of longing that will stay with me’
Huma Qureshi
‘A precise and moving novel about expectation, ambivalence and desire. Second Self unravels one of life’s big questions and asks what happens when two people change separately as well as together’
Abigail Bergstrom
‘Beautifully formed and written in almost hypnotically perfect prose. A delight. I can’t wait to read all of Chloë’s work’
Kate Sawyer
‘Second Self deals with tricky subjects with kindness and generosity. Chloë writes with deep care for her characters and the troubles they face but also with a keen eye for detail, both physical and, acutely, emotional’
Lizzy Stewart
‘At times meditative, at times heartbreaking, but throughout compassionate and nuanced. Sure to spark many a discussion among its readers’
Jenny Mustard
EVENTS
Chloë Ashby and Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett at Waterstones Crouch End on 11th July 2023 – tickets here
Chloë Ashby and Jenny Mustard in conversation with Bethany Rutter at Waterstones Gower Street on 12th July 2023 – tickets here
Chloë Ashby and Stephanie Bishop in conversation with Tess Little at Daunt Books Summertown on 13th July 2023 – tickets here
Chloë Ashby and Erica Mou at Margate Bookie on 20th October 2023 – tickets here
Stories Hidden by Paint with Chloë Ashby and Emily Howes at The Yard, Hampshire on 5th March 2024 – tickets here
Female authors writing on womanhood and motherhood at The Alternative Book Fair, London on 14th March 2024 – tickets here
Author talk at Oundle Festival of Literature on 16th May 2024 – tickets here
