The Consequences of Marriage

by Isla Dewar

When James McElroy saw the ad for a lodger with 'Bibi Sanders' in a smart Edinburgh street, he pictured a glamorous young landlady with whom he would form a meaningful and deep relationship. But Bibi's in her seventies. She's led a full life, including marriage to the domineering and difficult Callum, now deceased, and raised six children.She's not sure what to make of James and suspects - rightly - a troubling secret in his past. When Bibi sets out to re-visit the past for the final time via a tour of Britain in her rather unexpected Volvo sports car, James decides to go with her. It's a journey full of surprises and revelations which will change them both - and, in Isla Dewar's inimitable way, entertain and enlighten every reader.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

384 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2011

About the author

Born in Edinburgh, Isla Dewar now lives in Fife with her husband, a cartoonist, and two sons. Her first novel, Keeping Up with Magda, published in 1995, has been followed by a string of bestsellers.

Reviews

[Karon Phoenix-hollis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not really the kind I go for but I picked it up in a library sale of 5 paperbacks for £1 and I'm glad I did . It's an engaging read all about a family who individually all reach a turning point in their lives and what happens . One of the reviews on the book called it " funny" but I would disagree with that . It's wise , wistful and well observed , sometimes it's even witty but it's not a funny book . Very much enjoyed it , hope you do too .

[Amanda Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bibi Saunders, an eccentric 70 something woman, somehow gets her young lodger to take her on a road trip. We discover her life from Scotland to the USA. We learn about her dreamer of a husband and her sensible - ness. She has raised 5 children - happily, but she also has a son who has never returned. Her choices and mistakes are poignant in their consequences. The author makes this book a success by creating a charismatic character and weaving a web of time, place and era with her language. I liked it in spite of myself.

[Rachel]

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Bibi and finding out about her as a young woman and as a mother as her family grew up. Great story.

[Vasundhra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice Mild reading book that talks about a 70yr old woman and her life from her childhood especially her marriages, her husband and children. Read it. especially those who would love irony.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that grew on me. I enjoyed the Edinburgh and Scottish background and the characters came across as real, complex and often entertaining - at their heart the eccentric Bibi.

[Beverley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bibi is my favourtie character of all time, would love to have her over for a dinner party! What a delightful read. I thoroughly enjoyed the development, it started strong with a witty atmosphere but I felt it lost it towards the end of the book ...

"A person would want to be alone in it. In a car like this, he thought, you could be everything you wanted to be. A god, a king, Superman. Driving it would make a statement about who you were: not rich, but stylish, someone who took risks, who knew what he wanted, and who he was. It was a beautiful, beautiful thing."

"Bibi didn't fare so well friend-wise. In the end she reckoned she wasn't a hi kind of person; she was more a good-morning sort."

"Gathering the soup dishes, Bibi noticed a headline in the newspaper she'd been reading - Do Creases in the Ear Lobe Signal a Heart Attack? She carefully investigated her own ear lobes, tugging them, feeling for creases. 'Definitely,' she said. 'I have definitely got a crease or two. Bugger. I'm going to have a heart attack. I am going to die. And I'm just getting the hang of being alive."

"After we'd been married for years, we were one life. I was him. He was me. It was hard to know where one began and the other ended. We knew what the other was thinking. But marriage does that; all its stupidities, fights, jokes, misunderstandings, meals shared, a bed shared. I mean, you'd have to love one another after all that."

"I'm old,' she said. 'I don't know how it happened, but it did. My life slipped by one day at a time and suddenly I was seventy-two. Seventy-two, I say to myself, that's really old. Only I don't feel old, not inside, anyway. Only my body lets me down. I get stiff, aches and pains here and there. I know I can no longer run for a bus. But really I just feel like me.'
She thought she had been living so long there was barely a sound, sight or smell that did not evoke a memory.
'These days I am living through are full of mourning and shadows and memories, and do you know?' She turned to James and smiled.'I'm enjoying it enormously.'"

"That's what makes a love affair - sex and conversation."

"That was one of the consequences of marriage. She'd always known that the day would come when one of them would go and the other would be left behind."

[Carinya Kappler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is set in modern day UK. It is a family drama with witty outrageous scenarios. Bibi is the unfortunate gullible long suffering wife of a poet Callum who struggles to earn enough money to support his family. He married Bibi to spite her aristocratic father who then disowned his daughter. The author does present a believable story even though the rebellious ungrateful personality traits that exist in everyone are somewhat glorified. Hard work and boring commitments are not rewarded in this family group.
This is an easy book to read but the characters are ones I found difficult to identify with.
Carinya

[NickeySummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d forgotten what a fabulous writer Isla Dewar is! This book follows Bibi and Callum and their family through ups and downs, love and laughter, falling outs and death. Old age creeps in and the ‘legend’ that was Callum the poet, the myth, the man runs through the narrative of this book like a seam in a rock.
Its an examination of memories and how we cling to them, warp them, what we choose to hold on too and what we would rather forget, it a book about forgiveness and love, family and hope.
It’s really rather beautiful.

[Sue Lilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m working my way through all of Isla Dewar’s books. I haven’t been disappointed so far. The characters here are as quirky and engrossing as ever. The pace is quite leisurely which makes for a relaxing read. But there’s plenty going on. I wanted to know what happened to all of them. They’d become old friends by the end. Loved it!

[Jan Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were times that I loved this book and other times that I wanted to stop reading. Not sure how I feel about it. It does follow the life of Bibi Saunders going from present time to the past and back again. I didn't like her children nor her husband (who was dead at the time of the story).

[Cardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid "mild" work of fiction. A well written family drama (also, roadtrip!) set in Scotland that I picked off the library shelf spontaneously.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The Scottish Maeve Binchy - feel good easy reading like a comfy pair of slippers.

[Sophie Gow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to like a single character in this novel.

[Maslela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too, too simple for me. I'm sure it's nice and interesting for many other girls but there's too many great literature out there to nourish my mind. I haven't got enough time.

[Jean St.Amand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that. Just a regular story about (mostly) regular people and their regular lives...💜

[Kangelani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not usually a fan of non-fiction but I did enjoy this. Light-hearted, amusing. Characters well-drawn. Lots of activity.

[Joann Benton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time with the beginning of this book but I kept reading. I’m glad that I did. I really did end up enjoying the book.

[Amy Hemmington · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read for many reasons. A critical, sincere look at family and relationships, all told with a sense of humour and adventure. Isla Dewar puts a new spin on the "road trip" theme and on family dynamics and unlikely friendships. Entertaining, touching and beautifully written, this is an author who I want to read more of.

[Alta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good Saturday afternoon read

[Anna]

I found this book hard to get into, and i couldn't really warm to the characters

[Deb Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely book and a great Author. A great book to restart a flagging reader

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

One from my sister, and looking very promising. Great, believable characters right from the first page. High hopes for this one.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trade me experience.

[Margi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable and delightful read. Recommend it.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatively slow. Some funny bits