Elizabeth, a young, overworked hospital doctor gets a phone call from her father late on a Friday night telling her that her mother is dangerously ill. Over the weekend that follows, Elizabeth, on duty as ever and confronting the barely controlled chaos of a busy casualty ward, finds moments of reminisce about her childhood, its joys and its miseries. Past and present are interwoven into a series of vivid tableaux, drawing the reader into an intimate understanding of Elizabeth's life as a whole.

'In this vivid picture of 'normal' life, Dunn's Elizabeth, the oldest of three sisters, is a witty, down-to-earth female whom you really care for. 'Quite Contrary' isn't a weepy slice of bedtime reading, it's a well-observed chapter on growing up – and it proves a touching and remarkably unpredictable read.'
TIME OUT

'The writing is loaded with vibrant, visual images of so strongly evocative, so poetic a quality that they seem about to burst and to yield up a weight of hidden meaning.'
LITERARY REVIEW

'A compelling debut novel from a writer steadily gathering critical plaudits for her penetrative eye and unfussy style… The novel succeeds primarily as a luminous, honest and haunting portrait of a single woman doing a demanding job and trying to say alive inside as well.'
SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY

• A wonderful, skilful writer, extremely witty and warm.

• This new jacket reissue comes hot on the heels of paperback publication of Suzannah Dunn’s latest highly acclaimed novel, Commencing Our Descent.

• With a core appeal to the 30-something female market, Suzannah has also been highly praised by a dedicated male following which includes Malcolm Bradbury and Jonathan Coe, who said that she is ‘a writer with a subversive wit that few of her peers can match’.

Competition: Lorrie Moore, Anne Tyler, Georgina Hammick