Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart

by Finuala Dowling

Margot is a late-night talk radio host – the perfect job for an outspoken insomniac. Her Kalk Bay home is crowded with wonderfully evocative characters such as her teenage daughter, Pia, her hopelessly romantic yet mostly absent lover Curtis, and the family hanger-on, Mr Morland, a professional psychic. Finally there’s her mother, Zoe, once the acclaimed author of a quirky self-help volume with the same title, but now increasingly senile.

255 pages

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Tiah]

I loved this book. I think many, many, many people would love this book. Her characters are deeply flawed, oh so very human, yet you care. A page turning read of the basic every day hardships, that despite it all, is strangely uplifting.

[Anschen Conradie · Rating 4 out of 5]

#Homemakingforthedownatheart - Finuala Dowling
#Kwelabooks
#Pasellaboek

Jare gelede was daar ‘n sitcom genaamd ‘Full house’ met verskeie kleurvolle karakters wat ‘n huis gedeel het. Die eerste deel van hierdie boek het my daaraan herinner. Margot is die aanbieder van ‘n laataand radio-geselsprogram. Haar tienerdogter, Pia, is 13 en, ooreenkomstig haar ouderdom, om die beurt angstig en ekstaties. Curtis, Margot se inwonende vriend, smag om terug te keer na sy pa se plaas en doen intussen nutswerk om sy hande besig te hou. Zoe, Margot se ma, ly aan gevorderde dementia en Leroy, haar gewese man, is ‘n sukkelende komediant. Percy (Mr Morland) is die familie se ‘aanhangsel’; hy is ook ‘n medium en verdien sy geld deur (teen betaling) met die geesteswêreld te kommunikeer.

Die skryfstyl is besonders en wat mens sou verwag van ‘n skrywer wat ook as digter bekend is. Een van my gunsteling dele is oor ‘grootword’, in die gedagtes van Pia: ‘Maybe that is what growing older would really mean. Shrewdness. Not giving up dolls or discovering that tomatoes and avocados are really quite nice on sandwiches, but learning to keep quiet and plan what you were or weren’t going to say.’

Zoe se verstandelike agteruitgang word meesterlik beskryf; ook uit haar eie oogpunt. Dit was met tye hartverskeurend.

Dis egter geensins ‘n neerdrukkende boek nie en die teks is deurspek met fyn humor. Die insident waar Pia deur ‘n skerpioen gesteek word en die onderskeie karakters se reaksies daarop, was byvoorbeeld skreeusnaaks.

Die boek verdien ‘n soliede 4 sterre en sal geniet word deur lesers wat karakter-gefokusde romans waardeer. Dit hanteer temas soos eensaamheid, veroudering en kommunikasie met deernis in prosa-mooi taal.

#Uitdieperdsebek

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread this yesterday after a gap of 7 years. Appreciated it even more now that I am well and truly middle aged, and have lost both parents - mom very recently. What a gentle, witty, moving book by someone who sure knows how to write. People have called her the 'Jane Austen' of South Africa. This perfectly describes her ability to astutely capture all the so-called mundanities of life, of relationships and social interactions, and turn them into the profundities they actually are. Definitely not the last time I'll be reading this gem.

[Ruth Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book about the circle of life

[Anemari Jansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writer has insight into the human condition. Superb read.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book all about the imperfection of life, and the ties of responsibility and love.

Another South African goodie!

[Brenda Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dowling is such a good writer. Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart contains short chapters with simple writing in which the reader is not told everything at once. Despite not being an exciting story or one in which a lot happens, it is compelling. It’s more a situational story in which the protagonist watches her mum age and die, and in which she then becomes the matriarch. The characters are quirky – an ex-husband who won’t go away, a daughter who likes acting, a brother who is permanently addressed as Mr Moreland, a senile mother, a loving but unfaithful lover, and even an old dog. Margot herself is a night radio host, probably based on fact – the author’s mother. I liked the setting of Cape Town and the modern-day time period. It’s an examination of life, time passing, mortality. It’s unsentimental and the messages very understated.

[June Arderne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this story especially the descriptions of places that I know so well. The story was gentle but relevant to today’s world.

[Jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely, satisfying read. It tells an ordinary tale about real people, and does it with sensitivity and compassion. I enjoyed it.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it esp as have stayed in Kalk Bay recently

[Ian Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful real read.
The poet lodges in every sentence.

[Hjwoodward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this messy book. So delicately observed. I like the adequate space each character is given and the non-judgmentality of the writer. One is reminded of what a home should be – definitely it made me remember my childhood home, and the warmth, love, sisters and cats I was surrounded with at that time: cat hair, cattiness and fleas included. It also made me stop and question why are we taking these strident self-proclaimed gurus and experts of the Google hearth (I won’t add “and home”) so seriously? – because in fact these gleaming surfaces have so little to do with the word. (less) Have just read it again and absolutely loved it once more. I think even more so as I grow older and get to feel a bit like Zoe (was trying to think of the word for 'electricity' and came up with 'petrol' .... aargh! Dementia looms!)