Three Men on a Plane

by Mavis Cheek

Pamela Pryor's son has, at long last, left home. She now feels a certain freedom -- and also certain restlessness. There have been three significant men in her life -- Peter, her ex-husband; Douglas, a style guru; and Dean, a beautiful younger man -- all of whom have begun to think of Pamela in romantic terms once more. But Pamela wants to get to know herself again and can't quite decide with which of her three suitors (if any) she should take up.

Genres: Fiction

374 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 1998

About the author

Born in Wimbledon, now part of London, Mavis left school at 16 to do office work with Editions Alecto, a Kensington publishing company. She later moved to the firm's gallery in Albemarle Street, where she met artists such as David Hockney, Allen Jones, Patrick Caulfield and Gillian Ayres. In 1969 she married a "childhood sweetheart", Chris Cheek, a physicist, whom she had met at a meeting of the Young Communist League in New Malden, but they separated three years later. Later she lived for eleven years with the artist Basil Beattie. She returned to education in 1976, doing a two-year arts course at Hillcroft College, a further education college for women.

Although Cheek had planned to take a degree course, she turned instead to fiction writing while her daughter, Bella Beattie, was a child. She moved from London to Aldbourne in the Wiltshire countryside in 2003, but as she explained to a newspaper, "Life in the city was a comparative breeze. Life in the country is tough, a little bit dangerous and not for wimps."

Cheek has been involved with the Marlborough LitFest, and also teaches creative writing. This has included voluntary work at Holloway and Erlstoke prisons. As she described in an article: "What I see [at Erlstoke] is reflected in my own experience. Bright, overlooked, unconfident men who are suddenly given the opportunity to learn grow wings, and dare to fail. It helps to be able to tell them that I, too, was once designated thick by a very silly [education] system. My prisoners have written some brilliant stuff, and perhaps it gives them back some self-esteem."

Reviews

[Helen Marple-Horvat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and funny. However, whilst the unrealistic device at the end worked artistically, I felt it detracted from the rest of the story, which was more plausible throughout. I didn't like the references to Egyptian goddesses at the end. The book had made its point already. Probably just me though. I enjoyed the book overall.

[Cath Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. Shame it takes quite a while to get going. I listened to it on audio book and didn't really start laughing until CD 4 (out of 8).

Once it got going I found its clever wit, very entertaining. And I laughed out loud at some of their antics.

Thank goodness I'm happily married now and pray i won't need to go through the dating game again!!!

Recommended it to a friend.

[Sian Taylor]

Laugh out loud funny.

[Faith Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny easy read. I really liked Pam. Just what I needed.

[Manda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skipped through most of this one.
Got lost in so many places, the shop being the hardest to keep up with.
Read the epilogue and boom, book finished.
Disappointed, as the title is what sucked me in to give it a go.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely the right book at the right time for me! I will definitely look out for her other books. A really effortless, clever read. Utterly joyous.

[June Fellows · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining light and funny read - I don't often laugh out loud whilst reading but some of the situations are really comical and I enjoyed the author's depiction of the characters.

[Caitriona]

Can't believe I'm continuing with this drivel. But sometimes drivel is what one needs.

Update...It's getting worse. This book is all over the place. Too many characters, too many cliches, toomany mixed metaphors..

Only continuing as it is on CD and I listen in the car when radio becomes boring.
TAke it off 'to read' lists

I QUIT. UTTER RUBBISH>

[N R · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some funny parts, but mostly boring. I enjoyed the first book I read by her "Getting back Brahms". But now, as in the case of Lodge, Lurie, Hornby, Parsons (social comedians?), the more you read, the less you like them.

[Little BigGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy going

[AJWilts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struggled to finish this- it really did not interest me. Certainly not one of the author's best novels.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Mavis Cheek, chick-lit for grown-ups. Alphabet Soup Challenge 2017.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still funny but not quite as good as 'Aunt Margaret'

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it better than I thought I would. Not laugh out loud funny but OK.

[Sally]

gave up, life is too short if you're not enjoying a book, I only got to 8% but too much jumping around, I got mixed up and just couldn't be bothered