Happy Tuesday all!
Do you like a well told character driven story? Then do I have the book for you!
Growing Up For Beginners
It’s not easy being a grown-up, but at 47, Eleanor hoped she’d be better at it by now…
When Eleanor waves her daughter off for a gap-year trip, she finds herself stuck as a satellite wife, spinning in faithful orbit around her domineering husband, with only her clever but judgmental father Conrad for comfort.
Andrew isn’t mastering the art of growing up either. But when he finds his belongings dumped in bin bags on the drive, even he can see that his girlfriend is hinting he should move out. With no other options, he moves back in with his parents.
Backing onto their garden lives artist Cecilia, living in chaotic clutter and dreaming of her ex-lovers, still acting like a stroppy teenager at the age of 66.
Four lives are drawn together by long-buried secrets of the past, and it is time for them all to grow up… before it’s too late.
My thoughts
Quirky and complicated. Claire Calman has written an intricate character driven story. Multiple characters connected by a thin thread. Eleanor is a lovely lady married to a very despicable man named Roger. Not only was Roger a complete controlling jerk he also did the unthinkable, he cut out the last page of all Eleanor’s books? Can you imagine going to read a book and the last page is missing? Who does that? And there is Conrad, Eleanor‘s father who was in a loveless marriage himself, forsaking himself from his secret love. andrew works for Conrad he’s newly single and has recently moved home to live with his mother. Andrew’s mother is one of the most overbearing mothers ever. Andrew is dating Olivia, Cecelia‘s daughter. Cecelia is such a free spirit always telling stories to embarrass her daughters with her past escapades. Few that’s a lot of characters. And admittedly it was a little challenging to keep track of them all in the beginning. I also wasn’t sure how all of this was going to end up tying itself together, but it really did. There were characters to love, characters to hate, characters to frustrate, characters to confuse, characters to humor. I enjoyed getting to know all of these characters and found their lives and relationships interesting. The book also touched on so many different issues especially the relationship between parent and child and the many ways that can manifest itself. This was an emotional, thought provoking, and entertaining book.
*** Big thank you to Boldwood Books for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/2W6QeB4
Author Bio –
Claire Calman is a writer and broadcaster known for her novels that combine wit and pathos, including the bestseller Love is a Four-Letter Word. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Loose Ends.
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Have a beautiful day! XOXO Berit
