by S.J. Norbury
Audio Narration by Helen Keeley
Published by Louise Walters Books
Glad to have discovered Louise Walters Books, thanks to the Cosy Club Book Club by Mostly Books, Abingdon. Such a great way to support an independent publisher & really benefit the authors via independent bookstores or buying directly!
Given that a very large percentage of my reading consists of picture books, MG & YA level stories, maybe it's understandable that the first brief outburst involving swearing was a bit jarring. But I'd been looking forward to another one from Louise Waters Books, so remembered I'm actually an adult & kept reading! (The swearing is actually minimal, don't panic!)
I loved the actual story but also the writing style in this one, with its generous sprinkling of humour, timing & wit.
Examples:
"Is that you, Hugh?" her vowels arriving a good few seconds before the rest of her!
"I gave her my broadest smile & watched it bounce off her hairspray & the hoods of her eyes."
"Had she been a statue, I doubt even pigeons would dare sit on her!"
'Hugh was currently cutting a potato with a great deal more force & frowning than my cooking of it required.'
'Needing two 'oohs', the 1st to let go of the last astonishment & the 2nd to pick up the new one.' These all made me smile & re-read them & enjoy their context again.
This book is presented as diary entries with dates. It gives it a different feel from the start & it's one I enjoyed. I started by wondering if Mrs. Narwhal is just tired of being the backbone of the family, glue keeping it together or is this masking a true sadness of middle age & loneliness in a stale marriage? Is Hugh, her husband, very self-obsessed or just angry & unhappy with the world in general, not just his upholstery customers (described as spectacularly vile) who owe him money? Life & accounts of daily events mix very well with questions & feelings about their marriage whilst real life has to go on, even if it's in a strange, very uncomfortable form. With a shouty, angry, frustrated husband, inheriting & living in a huge, dilapidated house that develops new problems faster than others are solved, everything is a mess.
We see how each character tries and/or fails to deal with life & a very brittle family dynamic. Their attempt to revive the house & find a solution to keeping it alive would prove beyond challenging but will it really happen?
Another (maybe) odd but favourite detail was the length of Chapter 30 (audio), 2nd August (print) Two words.
'Normal Day'
And the very next chapter was just a couple of short lines. I enjoy short chapters or some of varying lengths throughout a book, but this just made me smile!
Thoroughly enjoyed this book & would definitely recommend it.
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