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The novel gets off to a dramatic start with a car being pushed into
a river in an attempt to avoid being caught in infidelity. This first section
presents us with an array of unhappy relationships that will develop
throughout. Meg, our protagonist, is a ghostwriter for popular genre fiction
and aspiring literary author. She is stuck in a damp cottage with a partner she
no longer loves, who contributes nothing financially, and causes her a lot of
anxiety with his temperamental ways. She reviews books for a local paper and
when an unusual non-fiction with strange ideas about the universe and the
afterlife lands on her desk she finds her world beginning to shift. What
follows is a gently paced tale of very ordinary lives interspersed with musings
on the construction of stories, sock knitting, and the role of New Age
theories.
These side topics can be frustrating or interesting depending on
your taste. The gently littered references to various hobbies can feel natural
whereas the longer segues in to conversations about high level theories often
feel unnecessarily lengthy and halt the narrative. Thomas makes it clear how
these thoughts fit into the overarching purpose of the novel but they can still present a block
to enjoyment.
Meg's character is contradictory, but often in ways that tickle the
reader. She has very clear ideas about what a genre novel should be and how
none of the components can fit into her ‘real’ novel, revealing the
pointlessness of snobbery about books. She deletes more words than she replaces
and yet believes it is a lack of time that prevents her writing, finding lots
of little obstacles, yet she makes use of every spare second when writing her genre
fiction, admitting to writing on her phone in supermarket queues. It seems
clear that she is setting herself so may tight restrictions to achieve her ‘real’
novel and therefore stunts her imagination, enjoyment of the writing, and
therefore probably also that of the reader, should she ever finish it.
Her constant excuses and imagined barriers are also reflected in the inability to escape unhappy relationships in both herself and her friends. She
does eventually realise that there’ll always be reasons why now is not a good
time but that they’re not worth wasting your life for. This revelation is a
relief to readers as the picture built up of her relationship is so
claustrophobic and unhealthy that you’re desperate for her to escape.
This is a gentle read with believable characters living very
ordinary lives and for the inquisitive mind there’s much beyond the narrative
to get stuck in to. The relationships depicted feel real and Thomas doesn’t
present us with all the answers for a happily ever after.
Pick up a copy:
I love this book and you've described perfectly what I like and don't like about it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, that's always lovely to hear.
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