The latest novel by de Waal (My Name Is Leon, 2016) was published in the U.K. last year as The Best of Everything. It reaches these shores with a new, more memorable title that underscores the story’s folksy tenderness. “My Sweet Pea” is what Paulette’s grandmother called her as a girl on St. Kitts, raising her after the death of her mother. Paulette came to England with Granny at age 11; she was 21 when Granny returned home, leaving Paulette, now working as an auxiliary nurse at Princess Alexandria Hospital, to reminisce about her idyllic Caribbean childhood. When the novel opens in 1972, Paulette has taken up with Denton, whose mysterious comings and goings don’t seem to dampen her ardor for him or her dreams of a large happy family. But Denton’s sudden death in a car accident—no spoiler; it occurs in Chapter 3—derails Paulette’s life again, and she finds herself instead with Denton’s friend Garfield, raising their son, known as Bird. Paulette is unhappy, and her unhappiness erupts into rage when, on a walk in the park, she encounters and confronts the white Englishman responsible for Denton’s death; soon she’s stalking “Shirt & Tie” and comes to understand that he’s mentally unwell and struggling to raise his grandson alone. Is it the echo of her own upbringing that draws Paulette to young Cornelius, nicknamed Nellie? “You can call me Pea,” she tells the timid, troubled boy, whose presence will complicate and ultimately transform her life. As even this brief synopsis suggests, this is a novel bursting with plot, but it’s also distinguished by lucid prose, heartfelt emotion, and moments of levity (thanks largely to Paulette’s outspoken Irish neighbor, Maggie).