Gentle is a positive emotion – not a passive one. When we look for a gentle read, we are often searching for a story full of compassion and humanity – a story that will reveal that there are good people in the world who choose to live their lives at a slower pace and value relationships that thrive on tenderness and kindness.
Gentle books are often charming and delightful in their settings, celebrating a quiet existence with pleasing descriptions and moderate language. Others are heart-warming, delighting in sympathetic characters who become almost friends. And then there are life’s misfits – often the central focus of these stories - who tread a different path, but with gentle courage, charm and perseverance. These have become our literary heroes – and you will meet many within the pages of this selection.
