Little Vanities

by Sarah Gilmartin

Dylan, Stevie and Ben have been inseparable since their days at Trinity, when everything seemed possible. A glance between them can still conjure their younger dancing beneath pulsing lights, the sharp taste of salt after swims in Dublin Bay.

Two decades on, life feels smaller. Dylan, once a rugby star, is stranded on the sofa, cared for by his wife Rachel. Across town, Stevie and Ben's relationship has settled into weary routine. Then, after countless auditions, Ben lands a role in Pinter's Betrayal. As rehearsals unfold, the play's shifting allegiances seep into reality, reviving old jealousies and awakening sudden longings, as each must reckon with how far they're willing to go in pursuit of desire.

Wry, sexy and deftly observed, Little Vanities is a novel about the dangerous thrill of stepping outside the roles we've been given - and the distance between the lives we imagine and the ones we live.

Genres: Irish Literature, Fiction, Ireland

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 21, 2026

About the author

SARAH GILMARTIN is a critic who reviews fiction for the Irish Times. She is co-editor of the anthology Stinging Fly Stories and has an MFA from University College Dublin. She won Best Playwright at the inaugural Short+Sweet Dublin festival. Her short stories have been published in The Dublin Review, New Irish Writing and shortlisted for the RTÉ Francis MacManus Short Story Award. Her story ‘The Wife’ won the 2020 Máirtín Crawford Award at Belfast Book Festival.

Reviews

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed! like a pressure cooker of a novel, the tension and pacing was done so well

[Lauren Olmeda Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

The men are the problem

[Linda Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wee bit disappointing given how brilliant her first two novels were. Dont get me wrong this is a page turner and her characters are fully rounded, there is no plot hole to eye roll at and yes, things happen. I even like rugby!
But it just felt a little predictable and one sided . The things that are going on in the men’s lives are actually more important and more serious but yet the tension and the ‘will I won’t I ‘character insight was mostly all from the girls.

[Lucy Skeet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved loved loved this! Thanks so much to Pushkin for my copy

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two couples, Stevie and Ben and Dylan and Rachel. The first three are friends since meeting at Trinity College in Dublin. In those happiest of days everything seemed possible. Twenty years on, Dylan‘s once glorious rugby career is over and he’s physically struggling, in a lot of pain and being cared for by his wife Rachel. As for Ben and Stevie, their lives are now routine and a struggle, especially as Ben hasn’t landed an acting role in a while, thus relying only on Stevie’s‘s wage. Then he gets some welcome good news of a big part in Betrayal, a play by Harold Pinter. However, perhaps that’s a clanging warning sign of things to come as their lives start to unravel with the past meeting the present day.

This character driven novel is well worth sticking with after a bit of a slow start but which makes total sense as the novel progresses as things slot into place. All the characters are very well portrayed and conveyed and I find I can’t decide if I like them or not, but thoroughly enjoy the fly on the wall experience looking at their relationships. It’s very good on the ever-changing, fluctuating dynamics, between the two couples, between the partners and the women and the men. I really enjoyed a look back at the Trinity days, where the whole thing starts and which has its roots in the present day. These university days are nostalgic and atmospheric, yet writing is clearly visible on walls with deeply submerged secrets.

It really intensifies after Ben gets the role in Betrayal, as he feels it all around him and he unravels with the play mirroring real life. Some of the most colourful scenes take place around the play and its performance. The tension that builds from this point is palpable and almost claustrophobic. There’s an ever present sense of danger, of the implosion of the status quo. Perhaps it’s a stark reminder that they were only ever papering over the cracks. I thoroughly enjoy how it plays out with the author making the whole thing feel very real and authentic.

This is another very good novel from Sarah Gilmartin.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to
Pushkin Press, Pushkin ONE, for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed Sarah Gilmartin's previous novels, so I was delighted to receive a copy of her third from NetGalley to review.

This novel revolves around four people. Dylan and Ben are childhood friends. At university in Dublin, they meet Stevie. Later, Ben and Stevie are a couple, while Dylan is married to Rachel. The book follows them over the course of their lives and through their relationships, as their fortunes rise and fall. Stevie is a physiotherapist, Rachel is a wife and mother who is longing for a second child. Dylan was a successful rugby player whose career was upended by injury. Meanwhile, Ben has been an aspiring actor whose big break might finally be here.

Gilmartin captures her characters' feelings and emotions perfectly. The rivalry between Ben and Dylan, the barely concealed dislike between Rachel and Stevie, and the growing attraction between Dylan and Stevie. The novel progresses with growing tension until things erupt and the lives of our characters change forever. I absolutely loved this book as I have loved Sarah Gilmartin's previous books. This would be ideal for a book group with so much to discuss, and the author manages to make us sympathise with every character, which is no easy task considering their often unwise choices and behaviour. Loved it and highly recommend this one.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written, character-driven drama that dives right into the messy realities of long-term friendship. The story follows four people whose lives have been tangled together since their university days in Dublin: childhood friends Dylan and Ben, Stevie (who becomes Ben’s partner), and Rachel, who is married to Dylan. As the years roll by, we watch their fortunes rise and fall—from Dylan’s rugby career being cut short by injury and Ben’s sudden shot at acting stardom, to Rachel’s deep longing for a second child.

The real magic of this book lies in how perfectly the author captures the quiet, unspoken friction between the characters. You can practically feel the competitive edge between the two men, the chilly undercurrents between Rachel and Stevie, and the complicated spark that begins to grow between Dylan and Stevie. The story builds with a wonderful, simmering tension until it finally boils over, changing all of their lives forever.

What I appreciated most was how human everyone felt. Even when they make incredibly messy, unwise choices, the writing is so compassionate that you can't help but sympathise with each of them. It is a thoroughly absorbing read that would make a good choice for a book club, as there is a lot to unpack and chat about.

My thanks to Net Galley for providing me with a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve now read all three of Sarah Gilmartin’s novels and I’ve genuinely loved every one. She’s so good at getting you inside her characters’ heads in a way that makes you understand them—even when you don’t agree with them at all. In Little Vanities, I found myself empathising with characters I normally wouldn’t, which is always a sign of great writing for me.

This book really feels like it’s about the quiet crisis of middle age, questioning your self-worth and how you ended up where you are. It’s thoughtful without being too heavy, and it's very, very human.

I also always love her Dublin references - makes me feel right at home! And I found that this book was such a page-turner. I flew through it!

I would highly recommend this, as well as any of Gilmartin’s novels.

Thanks Puskin Press for sending me and advanced proof copy of Little Vanities :)

[Always Reading Between The Wines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Vanities by Sarah Gilmartin
⭐️⭐️⭐️ . 5

A character driven book following the trio of Ben, Dylan and Stevie through their lives. At Trinity College, the trio appear to have everything ahead of them, but two decades later, Dylan's rugby career is over and Stevie and Ben have settled into a life of mundane routine. That is, until Ben, a struggling actor, suddenly lands the role of a lifetime and their lives begin to unravel. Gilmartin brings together the characters past and present lives really seamlessly and builds the story so well. The tension is palpable within the story as it progresses and Ben's play begins to unravel and mirror the events happening around him in real life. It creates a claustrophobic atmosphere that keeps the reader turning the page.

[Flighty_Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning it was not nearly as addictive as Service, but the strong prose and character driven plot remained. Then as everything unfolds and the tensions ramped up, I was glued to the pages. There's a nuance to the storytelling where nothing is dramatic for the sake of it, and everything feels real and true to the characters. Loved the Dublin setting also.

[alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big Sarah Gilmartin fan — the way she writes, her character building — it’s up there with the best. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world discovers this.