Little Bits of Baby

A young man returns to London from a monastery to become a godfather—and gets a second chance at love—in this “blithe, original, engaging satire” (The New York Times).

Robin has not gone outside for five years. When he first arrived at the remote island monastery, he had attacks so violent that the brothers thought he might do himself harm, so his room was stripped of all but the bed. Robin seemed to like it that way. But now, after years of penance for some unspoken sin, he is pale, drawn, and emotionally fragile—nothing like the promising university student he once was. Indeed, he is a ticking time bomb of unexpressed anger, and he is about to be unleashed upon the world.

Robin came to the monastery after his childhood playmate, Candida, became engaged to Jake, their irresistibly sexy mutual friend. Now, Candida is a mother, and she wants her long-lost friend to be the child’s godfather. When he returns to London after his long exile, Robin finds the modern world strange and unfamiliar, but he must fight through it if he is to conclude the unfinished business that caused him to flee, and take his place in the world once again.

Written at the height of the AIDS crisis, Little Bits of Baby is an intensely personal and romantic book from an author who writes with an intimate understanding of the labyrinth of the human heart. Winsomely funny and bittersweet, it may be the most remarkable novel Patrick Gale has ever produced.