Pamela Mulloy

As Little as Nothing Pamela Mulloy

On the eve of the Second World War outside a village in England, four people rush to an airplane crash and change their lives forever

In the tumultuous year before war breaks out, a plane crashes on a country lane and four people are brought together in the aftermath. Miriam is recovering from another miscarriage and learns to fly as an escape from the disappointments in her life. Audrey is a middle-aged, upper-class activist who has shunned her society, travels the UK lecturing on reproductive rights, lives in a Gypsy caravan, and whose daily ritual includes a swim in a nearby river.

It is Audrey's nephew, Frank, who teaches Miriam to fly. A club foot and his suppressed homosexuality have made him reluctant to engage with anyone other than his aunt. But as he succumbs to his attraction to the crashed pilot and convinces Miriam to co-pilot an air race from London to Manchester, and as Audrey confronts her past, ghosts must be laid to rest.

With the war looming, As Little As Nothing beautifully explores resilience, the strength of new bonds, and the various ways we reinvent ourselves.