<b> 'We get friendship, lies, recrimination, resentment, jealousy, betrayal and sex, bidden and forbidden. In other words, all the good stuff. . . A near-flawless novel from an Irish writer who just gets better and better' IRISH TIMES</b>
<b>Two couples. Twenty years. One unforgettable story.</b>
Dylan, Stevie and Ben have been inseparable since their days at Trinity, when life pulsed with possibility. A single glance can still summon their younger selves: dancing beneath flashing lights, salt on their skin after swims in Dublin Bay.
Two decades later, their dreams have faltered. Dylan, once a rugby star, is stranded on the sofa, tended by his wife, Rachel. Across town, in their new build, Stevie and Ben's relationship has settled into an airless routine. Then, after countless auditions, Ben lands a role in Pinter's <i>Betrayal</i>.
As rehearsals unfold, the play's shifting loyalties seep into reality, stirring old jealousies and awakening forbidden longings, as each must confront how far they are willing to go in pursuit of desire.
Wry, sexy and deftly observed, <i>Little Vanities</i> is a novel about the perilous thrill of stepping outside the roles we've been given-and the distance between the lives we imagined and the ones we find ourselves living.
<b>'A natural writer' ANNE ENRIGHT</b>
<b>'Wonderfully authentic, electrifying' CLARE CHAMBERS</b>
<b>'Fantastic at examining the tussles between people in relationships' THE TIMES</b>
<b>'Messy, complicated, compelling' EMILIE PINE</b>
<b>'A riveting tale of emotional infidelity' AINGEALA FLANNERY</b>
Reviews / Votes
Gilmartin excels at complex and authentic characters. We get friendship, lies, recrimination, resentment, jealousy, betrayal and sex, bidden and forbidden. In other words, all the good stuff. . . A near-flawless novel from an Irish writer who just gets better and better * Irish Times * Fantastic at examining the tussles between people in relationships of all kinds * The Times * Wonderfully authentic, electrifying - there are dramas within dramas here and the unravelling is exhilarating when it comes -- Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures Messy, complicated, compelling, you will not be able to stop reading this story of the deepest of betrayals -- Emilie Pine, author of Ruth & Pen Little Vanities is a riveting tale of emotional infidelity, in which the reader's loyalty is constantly shifting. It had me hooked from the first page to the last. Gilmartin's wry observations on human behaviour are a joy. She understands that lust and betrayal are thrilling- when they happen to other people. I devoured this book. -- Aingeala Flannery, author of The Amusements Gilmartin writes about relationships with great precision and insight. Her characters find themselves trapped by their life choices and reckoning with the cost of overturning them. This is a scrupulous and elegant novel about the realities of adulthood -- Kathleen MacMahon, author of Nothing But Blue Sky Acutely observed, beautifully written, compelling readable, fizzing with insight and truthfulness, this is a wonderful novel -- Joseph O'Connor, author of Star of the Sea Gilmartin is a natural writer: she gives us terrific, complex characters and strong themes, in a prose that is fluent and charged with insight -- Anne Enright, author of The Wren, The Wren
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Dimensions
Height: 144 mm
Width: 224 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
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ISBN-13
978-1-80533-803-1 (9781805338031)
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Schweitzer Classification
Sarah Gilmartin's short stories have been published in The Dublin Review, The Tangerine and The Stinging Fly. She won the Mairtin Crawford Short Story Award in 2020. Her novels Dinner Party: A Tragedy (2021), Service (2023) and the forthcoming Little Vanities (2026) are published by ONE. She was the 2025 Arts Council Writer-in-Residence at Dublin City University.
