Something in Common

by Roisin Meaney

It's 1975. Helen O'Dowd and Sarah Flannery encounter one another briefly, under traumatic circumstances. Three years later their lives collide unexpectedly again, and for the next thirty years they remain in contact without ever laying eyes on one another again, or realising that they once met. As time goes by they share their triumphs and disasters, their hopes and their fears. This is the story of two very different lives, and a friendship that begins on a bridge on an autumn afternoon and ends in a funeral parlour.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Womens Fiction, Contemporary

448 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

Born on 3rd September.
A published author of twenty books for adults and three for children, Roisin worked as an advertising copywriter for a number of years, and brings a vast amount of experience to the editing team. Her first novel, The Daisy Picker, won a Write a Bestseller competition. Her third novel, The Last Week of May reached number one on the Irish bestseller list and her fourth, The People Next Door reached number two. Her books have been translated into several languages, and two, Semi-Sweet and Life Drawing for Beginners, have been published in the US. She is currently working on her next book, which is scheduled for publication in autumn 2023. She is also plotting another children's book - shhhhh.

Reviews

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can one person have a significant impact on another person? Perhaps they can, if this story is to be believed. Two women, who could not be more different, meet though letters. One is Helen whose husband has died really young. At the opening of this novel Helen feels she has little to live for, even though she has a young daughter Alice. The other is Sarah. She is a warm, forgiving person who always seems to see the best in others. Maybe at times Sarah can seem a little too sweet but she is balanced by Helen whose editor boss once told her. ‘You have a mouth on you that would scour toilets.’ He’s not wrong. Yet it was that very scathing attitude that brought Sarah into Helen’s orbit and ultimately into her life after she wrote a cutting book review. Opposites they may be but somehow a bond was forged and is maintained through letters.
Related in alternate chapters from Sarah and Helen’s points of view, this is a story of friendship. The book stars in 1975 and goes through to 1998. Even when I didn’t agree with some of their choices, I was right there with these two women sharing their lives and loving it, right up till towards the end. Suddenly I had an inkling of what was going to happen. It gave me no satisfaction to be proved right. Although in some ways there is a certain symmetry to the ending, quite simply it was not the ending I wanted. As a result of that and a couple of other incidents that seemed unneccarily harsh, what looked like it was heading towards a five star read has been brought back to four. Still, a really good read though.

[elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*
THE ENDING OF THIS OHMYGOD. NOT WHAT I WANTED, AND DIDN'T SEE COMING. Still not sure whether that ending adds points or deducts points, so going to stick with my original rating.
Slow start, but really quite hard to put down once you get more into it.

[Obsidian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was really not good. I gave it two stars for at least keeping me reading. The ending was such a letdown.

Full review:

"Something in Common" follows aspiring writer Sarah and journalist Helen. The two women have a meeting and go their separate ways, and then later on due to circumstances get to know each other via letters they send and continue in each other's lives for several decades.

I thought that Helen had the more interesting story line. Widowed at a young age and feeling left unmoored by that and her young daughter, I liked that she wasn't a lightweight and pushed back when necessary. Sarah's storyline takes a while to get interesting, but I felt like most of her plotline was that she was just not very aware of anything going on in her life. The secondary characters outside of Helen's daughter didn't feel very developed.

Honestly the biggest issue I had with this is that Meaney kept throwing up roadblocks to these two women meeting. It started to get old after a while. And you could see the plotlines with Sarah coming a mile away. It just didn't ring true after a while.

The flow was pretty awful, it took a while to get used to the back and forths and a few times I had to go back to read what the year was and what was going on in the two women's lives. I think at one point we had a 3 year jump and then some other jumps with things alluded to later.

The setting of the book takes place in Ireland in the 1960s and through the 1990s.

The biggest issue I had was the ending. I thought it was pretty shoddy to have Sarah killed and Helen goes to the funeral and decides to not interact with her family because Sarah is dead and what is the point. It made zero sense, leaves you feeling unfulfilled and doesn't make sense since we all know at that point that Sarah and Helen's family know about the other. Most of them are going to think she's rude and didn't care. Oh well.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should come with a warning..absolutely fantastic book with fantastic characters that you can really invest in and get to know their lives but after reading all that the ending comes and punches you up the side of the head! Like seriously wtf was that for,yes we know it all ends at a funeral so one of the women must die over the course of a lifetime.
Will it be Sarah a mum to two young kids and finally has another chance at happiness or Helen who finally gets her second chance at happiness...

They met right at the beginning but never know it and you think it will be cleared up at the end,the surviving woman will figure it out but no she never does and she doesn't even introduce herself to anyone,just walks away and that's it over,end of story.

What a complete and utter let down of an ending,I would have gave it 5 stars no problem but that just ruined it for me,wish I'd never read it now!
Think I'm being kind by even giving it 3 stars!

[Jina Howell-Forbes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the way the author writes and I love the epistolary novel format. The complexities of a friendship between two women who share there bumpy lives through letters only for 25 years was both heart-wrenching and fun.

But two days after finishing the book, I am still so angry with the author that I could spit. There is not a happy ending, and there was absolutely no reason for it to end as it did. Just a sudden jolting incredibly sad, expected, and completely pointless ending.

[Jennifer Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just a pick up at the library since the cover looked interesting. I loved the two main characters and enjoying watching how their friendship developed. I did find some of the scenes depressing. And the ending was definitely not the one I wanted.

[Carol Van Gamper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great characters

Interesting characters and storylines. Not the usual happy ever after story more like how the characters are so different from one another. I will read more of her books.

[Sharon Sutton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was well written and engaging, and would have been a 4-5 rating for sure. It is my furst time reading this author, and I was really enjoying her writing and was about to recommend her to my friends.
But the ending - who does that?! This author creates characters that become your friends, you are invested in their lives and their outcomes - and then you are rudely whacked in the head with the most senseless ending imaginable. Why? It made zero sense, and simply wasn't necessary. Not all endings should be happy, life isn't like that and books should reflect both the good and the bad. But this ending, just as the character was about to realise a dream which had been built up throughout the entire story, came out of the blue and both shocked and saddened me.
The ending ruined the whole experience for me and I will not be looking for this author again.

[Judi Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helen and Sarah ‘meet’ over a book review with different viewpoints. While Sarah had not read the book, she was not happy with the negative words shared by Helen and she wrote to her with her opinion. This started a ‘pen-pal’ relationship that grew into a deep friendship. After years of sharing and never meeting in person they set out to finally meet face to face.
Roisin Meaney does a wonderful job in sharing her writing with us all. Something in Common has made a deep impact on me and I’m sure it will stay with me for a long time. I look forward to reading more of her work.

[SHARON Boyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thwarted Friendship

I love the way Roisin Meaney writes. Her characters become friends almost from page one. After the first chapter you're completely involved in their lives. You feel their joys, their pain, their uncertainties, their heart breaks. You live next door and are totally wrapped up in their lives. And the read is most pleasurable to the very last page. Helen and Sarah are pen pals and best friends. For years they share their lives and loves with each other. The story is heartwarming as well as heartbreaking.

[Sarah Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well - I loved this book - great characters and beautifully written. As always Roisin Meaney drew us in to the lives of these people and got us invested. You really get to know these people and care about them. It is a strange tale of the very essence of friendship between the two main characters and what makes it strange is that they have never met, they correspond with each others over the course of twenty plus years - they know every detail of each others life and this is what makes it so special. Didn’t end the way I expected but it was a fitting end I think.

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

They never met, their friendship was the result of a letter of complaint Sarah wrote to Helen's editor following a rather critical review Helen published of a debut novel. That initial letter sparked a friendship spanning over 20 years. Despite never meeting these women knew everything there was to know about each other. They were very different and yet so similar. I felt like I knew these women, their very different lives, I felt their heartache, I smiled through their good times. A touching book by Roisin Meaney.

[Maite Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

I don't normally write recommendations for books. I leave my stars and move on. But this book had me in tears, so much so that I have streaks of mascara running down my cheeks. I can't quite put my finger on why, other than simply enjoying Roisin Meaney's writing style, but this one touched me more than expected. Thank God she's written more :)

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like a 3.5 but I am planning to read more from this author. She had def potential for me. My main complaint was character development - an awful lot of time was covered (decades!) and a lot happened to each of the two main characters, yet I’m stumped to remember either of their names just 2 wks after finishing the book.

[Sabeena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by the author, and think she writes very well. I thought the main characters were interesting, and I enjoyed reading about their lives as they unfolded. I finished the book in two days, and it distracted me from doing a lot of other things that I needed to do. However, my only grievance against the book is that there is too much sadness in it for me.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful story of two women who meet in rather distressing circumstances. They become pen friends not realising that they had already met. A great story, filled with happy, sad, happy, sad, moments. That's life!

[fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I thoroughly enjoyed this book maybe now I can get some sleep he kept me up fascinated never knowing what was coming next it's 6 .55 in the morning and I have just finished it I'm sorry it ended but a brilliant book thankyou

[Linda Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Coincidence, or Fate Disguised

A chance meeting and a life saved. We never know until something brings it to light. We miss chances all the time to affect another life, and sometimes they make all the difference.

[Mary Geraghty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tears before bedtime 😕

What a beautifully crafted book. The story was captivating from the very first page. The joys and the sorrows tangible. I wanted the letters to continue forever. I loved this book. Must buy some more tissues.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

*spoiler*











Slow to start but then picked up and I enjoyed the 2 womens' stories. But the end - record scratch!
And she didn't even introduce herself to the family at the service! What a waste.

[Jess Van Dyne-Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts out slow, but works well. The relationships in this book were detailed well.

[Leanne Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it - so sad they didn't get to meet in the end

[Honeypie · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG. I cannot. Not yet.

Might be my best read for this year.

BRB. I need to calm down.

[Kim Solleder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved it, great story telling by Roisin Meany, I have already read 3 of her books, and plan to enjoy the rest, just an amazing read, the ending was not what I was expecting.

[Cyndy Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A can't put down book. The relationship of these two women grows more interesting as the story unfolds. Funny parts and sad parts, all add up to a wonderful story. I highly recommend it.

[Clare Szczygiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Roisin Meany

It’s like being invited into a family or group of friends so very comfortable. She writes lovely books like Maeve Binchy

[Lorraine Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read

[Christina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never been more angry to reach the end of a book, builds up tension and never releases it, left me angry and empty

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sent in Ireland over a course of years an interesting family drama

[susanmarshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

New reader

Like all her books .wonderful .I have only come across her books recently but I am working my way through them with joy