A.L. Kennedy has twice been selected as one of Granta's
Best of Young British Novelists and has won a host of other awards,
including the Costa Book of the Year for her novel Day. She lives
in London and is a part-time lecturer in creative writing at the
University of Warwick.
@Writerer | a-l-kennedy.co.uk
Incredibly moving, yet joyful. It made me cry
* * Guardian * *
Charming lessons in life, death and kindness . . . This
heartwarming fable is a reassuring read for anyone, young or old,
coming to terms with mortality . . . Hugely moving
* * Observer * *
After entering Kennedy's world, it's hard to find a way out . . .
In The Little Snake, the swift emotional slippages click along, one
after another, sentence after sentence, like an intricate
concatenation of rainbow-bright dominoes. Funny, surprising and
unexpected . . . Kennedy's prose - like the endlessly unreeling
speculations of her most interesting characters - is simultaneously
logical and illogical, sad and funny, simple and profound, turning
over and over in endless permutations, like an elegant small snake
wrestling against the constraints of its own shiny and menacing
skin
* * New York Times * *
Teaches its protagonists lessons about cruelty, mortality and above
all, love . . . [An] enchanting modern fairy tale . . . A fable for
our time . . . Kennedy's humour and lightness of touch serves to
underscore her serious intent: an urgent reminder of the small and
great things that actually give life its meaning
* * Financial Times * *
A miniature fable . . . In this bitter age of broken borders, this
timely, timeless story's large helping of sugar is not
unwelcome
* * Sunday Times * *
As for brave, kind heroines, you can't do better than A.L.
Kennedy's The Little Snake, about a girl who one day finds a
handsome, vain snake wrapped round her ankle. It brings death, but
they become friends. A lovely story, and good for readers of any
age
* * Spectator * *
An homage to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, this
fairytale novella is a simple but sumptuous read
* * The Telegraph * *
A beautiful, deceptively-simple read that delves into the human
condition . . . Gorgeous turn of phrase . . . The result is a brief
read that is poetic, life-affirming and saddening - and you don't
want the end to come
* * Herald * *
Playful . . . sweet, sad but always a hairsbreadth away from
whimsy, it's told in a soothing tone that, for better or worse,
makes you feel as if you're sitting cross-legged on a classroom
carpet
* * Daily Mail * *
Kennedy offers a gentle, clear-sighted and deeply moving commentary
on what humanity really means
* * Scotsman * *
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