Not Funny Not Clever

by Jo Verity

Two middle-aged women, one handsome TV weatherman, and three hormonal teenagers are all stuck in the middle of a heat wave with nothing planned. Elizabeth was hoping for a week of idle chatter and cold white wine with her friend Diane, not being caretaker to some teens. Diane was looking for an answer to a puzzling and difficult dilemma without being preached at. But they’ve all got to make the best of it. After a few short days, everything and nothing will have changed. With a bittersweet touch, Jo Verity takes a smorgasbord of characters and throws them together to work out what it is that makes life worth living.

416 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

Jo Verity is the author of five published novels - 'Everything in the Garden' (2005), 'Bells' (2007), 'Sweets from Morocco' (2009), 'Not Funny, Not Clever' (2011) and 'Left and Leaving' (2014) - all published by Honno.
Her sixth novel, 'A Different River', will be published in June 2018.
Her short stories have appeared in anthologies, magazines and been broadcast on Radio 4. She won the Richard & Judy short story competition in 2003 and the Western Mail Short Story Prize in 2004.


Jo lives in Rhiwbina, Cardiff, Wales.

Reviews

[Pippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my 3rd by Jo Verity and I suspect that if I was not already familiar with her work I may well have abandoned it because I didn’t engage much with the characters until almost half way. The second half of the book was distinctly better but I am not sure it ended the way I wanted it to, then again if I compare it to the other two I have read perhaps I should have known, her stories tend to be very real-world. I would have given it 4 stars if I hadn’t struggled so much with the first half.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by this Author.
I enjoyed this book, the story and the characters and the location
And all the different character's stories and descions or choices they were thinking about.
I look forward to reading more of Verity's books

[Johnny English · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great read , didnt like the adults at all , they behaved like teenagers , the best person in the book was was the teenager !! Her other books are better !!

[Ian Kirkpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Not Funny – Not Clever” is Jo Verity’s fourth published novel and it’s an engaging read. It is essentially a character study where the feelings and emotions of the main protagonists take centre stage, rather than the plot.

It is a fairly straightforward story told as a linear narrative and describing the events of a single week in the life of Elizabeth Giles. This tightly focused timeline gives the book a satisfying structure and Verity’s deft writing allows the storyline to gently develop and gather pace.

Elizabeth has settled into a largely uneventful life. When her husband heads off to France on a cooking course she decides to visit her old school friend Diane in Cardiff. However, just as she is making plans to leave an unexpected problem arrives on her doorstep in the shape of Jordan, the teenage son of her own son’s older lover. She decides to take Jordan to Cardiff with her for the week, setting a train of events in motion which will challenge her perceptions and force her to re-evaluate her life. The catalyst for this re-evaluation is Diane’s neighbour, the charismatic TV weatherman Dafydd Jones. Elizabeth, Diane and Jordan are invited to stay at Dafydd’s parents-in-law’s holiday cottage on the Gower peninsula along with Dafydd and his two teenage daughters. In this idyllic setting Elizabeth is challenged to confront the direction her life has taken.

Jo has a great ear for dialogue and it’s the conversations she constructs for her characters which makes them authentic and convincing. She also does a superb job of balancing the various characters’ back stories with their present actions, teasing out details that provide a depth and a resonance to each of her cast. There are beautifully judged echoes between how the teenagers and the adults react to different circumstances which give the book an edgy realism.

Based in Cardiff, Jo’s books are published by the independent Welsh co-operative publishers Honno. On the strength of this novel I shall definitely be ordering Jo’s other books to add to my “must read soon” pile.

[Jayne Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was dubious about picking this book up, given the presence of a spelling mistake on the front cover of all places, but I gave it a go anyway. I’m glad I did – it was a great piece of writing and an enjoyable bit of middle-aged escapism. As tends to be the case with this small Welsh publishing company, there is a steady trickle of pro-Wales propaganda, and there is the suspicion that if this book is left on your bedside table overnight it will whisper hypnotic Plaid Cymru slogans to your sleeping self, but to be fair Wales does boast stunning scenery and a rich cultural heritage including its own language. They were preaching to the converted in my case.

In the book we meet Elizabeth, middle aged and buttoned-up, who has her sullen teenage step-grandson foisted on her just as she is about to visit her friend in Wales. They make unwilling travelling companions as they drive down the M4, but once in Wales Elizabeth is drawn into a steamy encounter with a “minor celebrity” (the weatherman from the local TV station) who comes in somewhere between George Clooney and Max Boyce. However unlikely such an encounter might be in the real world, it was nicely done.

Parents of teenagers will find much amusement here – the presence of step-grandson Jordan is a constant hindrance to Elizabeth’s plans, and hardly a page went by without some observation that would make me nod and smile. But my favourite bit of all was right at the beginning where Elizabeth has to question the children next door while they are bouncing on a trampoline (“Have you...seen a...big boy...in my garden?” ‘synchronising her question with the appearance of their flushed faces above the garden wall’)

Calling a book “Not Funny Not Clever” strikes me as brave – after all it does invite snarky comments, but on this showing it definitely was both funny and clever.

[Aina Rosdi · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I love about this book:

- Vivid description of the real time setting (Cardiff, London and Llangennith)
- Heartfelt and well demonstrated characters (especially Jordan and Elizabeth)
- The setting is in Wales, which I can totally relate to.
- And I like the fact that most themes (family, marriage, friendship, strangers, mystery, reckless love) come under this one, book and as a result, it gave that sturdy storyline.

Although...

I can only hope the author would expand more on Elizabeth - Jordan's relationship (the ending of it was a bit vague, I think) and that there would be a more conclusive ends to Diane and Carl's relationship. On top of that, the storyline is a bit slow paced, which I think is a bit vexatious.

And I still think that Left and Leaving, Jo Verity's latest novel is my fav!

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, its got great characters that seem very real. I felt part of the story which doesn't happen to me very often. At times it did feel a bit slow but then its not a thriller or an adventure novel, although there is an element of the unknown throughout it. I'd definitely like to read more by this author.

[Denise Kruse · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, here on the other side of the world, this felt like a little vacation to Wales– and it seems Wales makes people a bit giddy in the romance department. It explored all kinds of relationships and, although occasionally a tad shallow, it was a nice read. The teen, Jordan, was my favorite character. He brought an interesting and strong element to the story.