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Waiting for a Party
Claire Meadows, 92, is lying in bed on a Sunday morning, looking forward to the 102nd birthday party of her friend Martin in his retirement home. As she reminiscences about her life, her failed ambition to become a concert pianist, her missed opportunity to have a child, her friends and lovers, mostly dead, she is troubled by the part she played, consciously and deliberately, in the death of her husband. Did she kill him or was it an accident? Or a suicide willingly abetted by her? And what about her feelings of fear and relief when the body was taken away?
Widowed, her outlook is changed by a casual sexual encounter and in the years that follow she seems to be catching up on the experience she missed as she was married at twenty-two. Most of her brief liaisons are unsatisfactory until, at a concert, she sits next to a man with an intriguing face. Many years after his death, the memory of that relationship still excites her.
When she met her husband, who was more than twenty years her senior, she was lost, or that is what she believed, and for the next thirty years he made all the decisions on her behalf. She had to adjust to his lifestyle and relinquish her musical ambitions.
Yet, looking back, she insists that she was happy in her marriage, only to qualify the statements almost immediately. Her memories, are unreliable and sometimes contradictory. She is aware that she has difficulty in distinguishing memory and imagination. However, despite her advanced age, her desire for love and sexual intimacy appear undiminished. She dreams of being sexually desired, while aware that, at ninety-two, the dream is bound to remain just that.
Zach, her adopted son, and Gabriel, his partner, both in their early sixties, arrive earlier than planned. There is no party. Martin died that morning. Despite their grief, Claire and the men plan a trip to the Uffizi in Florence. This is a story of a life-enhancing journey from a state of being lost to self-knowledge and contentment.
Widowed, her outlook is changed by a casual sexual encounter and in the years that follow she seems to be catching up on the experience she missed as she was married at twenty-two. Most of her brief liaisons are unsatisfactory until, at a concert, she sits next to a man with an intriguing face. Many years after his death, the memory of that relationship still excites her.
When she met her husband, who was more than twenty years her senior, she was lost, or that is what she believed, and for the next thirty years he made all the decisions on her behalf. She had to adjust to his lifestyle and relinquish her musical ambitions.
Yet, looking back, she insists that she was happy in her marriage, only to qualify the statements almost immediately. Her memories, are unreliable and sometimes contradictory. She is aware that she has difficulty in distinguishing memory and imagination. However, despite her advanced age, her desire for love and sexual intimacy appear undiminished. She dreams of being sexually desired, while aware that, at ninety-two, the dream is bound to remain just that.
Zach, her adopted son, and Gabriel, his partner, both in their early sixties, arrive earlier than planned. There is no party. Martin died that morning. Despite their grief, Claire and the men plan a trip to the Uffizi in Florence. This is a story of a life-enhancing journey from a state of being lost to self-knowledge and contentment.
- GenresFiction
191 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2024
6 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 13, 2024
And today, it is not the morning after, hah, there are unlikely to be any more mornings after, but memories surge, fighting for attention, placing themselves one on top of the other, like hands in a child’s game. She wants to hold onto them and re-live the palimpsest that is her life and she wants to remember everything. Memory is all. Memory is her life now.
Vesna Main followed her cleverly structured Goldsmiths shortlisted Good Day with the stunning Only a Lodger … And Hardly That: A Fictional Autobiography, my favourite book of 2020, and a highly literary and yet very personal, and moving, meditation on memory and ageing.
Waiting For A Party is perhaps more conventional in form, but equally powerful in its exploration of similar themes, and confirms her place as one of our finest novelists.
The novel is narrated by Claire, aged 92 when the novel opens, who is waiting for her son Zach, aged 62, to take her to the 102nd birthday party of her friend, originally her husband’s friend, Martin, an author of detective novels.
As she waits, her memories roam over her life, particularly her later life. She married her husband, Bill, when she was in her early 20s, he, a doctor, more than 20 years older, and her life, and her nascent musical career, was rather subordinated to his, him also treating her rather paternally and patronisingly (always referring to her “my dear, little Claire”).
He died when she was in her early 50s, following an overdose from the medicine he was prescribed after a stroke - and the circumstances of that - whether it was accidental or deliberate on his behalf, her own culpability and her rather passive reaction, carrying on talking to her friend although she suspected something had happened and delaying calling an ambulance when she found him - are one theme she returns to in her recollections.
But much concerns her life after his death, starting with her first sexual assignation, a decade after his death, when she was aged 62 (the ages ending in “2” a theme whose meaning wasn’t clear to me - symbolic or convenient to anchor events and people decades apart?) with a man in his 70s who she met at a party. This the opening to the novel:
Yes. She remembers the full moon, a large, luminescent paper collage against the sky, the fuliginous sky. That was the word he used, the word that stuck with her. She remembers the sharp lines of the full moon. Later, the image made her think of a picture drawn by a child, with the sky’s sootiness, threatening, noxious, replaced by dark navy blue, and a sprinkling of scintillating stars. She doesn’t remember there being stars on the night, but they entered her memory at some point and remained. That image, the transformed image of the view from the car parked to the side of Petersham Road, became associated with the man. But despite what the symbolism of the moon might suggest, she doesn’t remember him as cold and changeable. Perhaps he was but she could not tell at the time, nor could she tell that later but, if pushed, she would read the connection between him and the image that stood for him in her mind as implying art, meaning artfulness, artificiality, even affectedness, and play, as in lack of seriousness, unpredictability, randomness. Ultimately, he remained an enigma but, in her memory, art and play stand for him and for the experience they shared that night.
Another strand concerns her unconventional family arrangement. Zach is someone thirty years her junior. Originally they were lovers but she realised he was in denial about his sexuality and introduced him to Gabriel, a novelist, and started to think of Zach as her son (making her a Jocasta as she likes to label it), which in any case was how people tended to treat them when they dined together or booked a hotel.
Gabriel, her lovely son-in-law. Her novelist son-in-law. His novels have intriguing covers, works of art in themselves. She prefers editions that have no pictures on the cover, classical, minimalist, à la Gallimard, or Fitzcarraldo. All titles with the same plain cover and easily recognisable. But if you are to have a cover, it ought to be designed with care and a great deal of thought. She remembers hearing a publisher saying they were proud to be making books like works of art.
And in another weave of her thoughts she thinks of what her life has ultimately amounted to:
Or perhaps her obituary should say she had the potential to become someone, a professional musician of some standing but she accepted her failure and she was content. Shouldn’t there be obituaries about people who accepted failure? Isn’t that more difficult than riding on success? A Nobel Prize for graceful failure and the acceptance of one’s lot, the ultimate acceptance without regret. A Booker, a Goncourt for coming to terms with one’s failure. Many entries and most well-deserving of the prize. Why not? She remembers a friend, a writer, a poet, a wonderful poet, introducing her to a poem by Yeats, yes, ‘To a friend whose work has come to nothing’. A handsome man he was. Anthony. Yes, that was his name. Could he still be around? Unlikely. Older than Martin. Very unlikely. And she remembers the lines ‘Because of all things known / that is most difficult.’ Most difficult, one’s work coming to nothing. Yes. But . . . but, yes, she had been happy throughout her life. She had a long life, she loved and she was loved. That could be mentioned in the obituary. And she had some great sex. Gosh, everyone would be envious but no one ever writes such things in an obituary. A pity. There is something warped about our hierarchy of achievements. Oh yes, she acquired a son, and what a marvellous son, when she was sixty-three. Not many women can boast that.
Impressive and moving.
Vesna Main followed her cleverly structured Goldsmiths shortlisted Good Day with the stunning Only a Lodger … And Hardly That: A Fictional Autobiography, my favourite book of 2020, and a highly literary and yet very personal, and moving, meditation on memory and ageing.
Waiting For A Party is perhaps more conventional in form, but equally powerful in its exploration of similar themes, and confirms her place as one of our finest novelists.
The novel is narrated by Claire, aged 92 when the novel opens, who is waiting for her son Zach, aged 62, to take her to the 102nd birthday party of her friend, originally her husband’s friend, Martin, an author of detective novels.
As she waits, her memories roam over her life, particularly her later life. She married her husband, Bill, when she was in her early 20s, he, a doctor, more than 20 years older, and her life, and her nascent musical career, was rather subordinated to his, him also treating her rather paternally and patronisingly (always referring to her “my dear, little Claire”).
He died when she was in her early 50s, following an overdose from the medicine he was prescribed after a stroke - and the circumstances of that - whether it was accidental or deliberate on his behalf, her own culpability and her rather passive reaction, carrying on talking to her friend although she suspected something had happened and delaying calling an ambulance when she found him - are one theme she returns to in her recollections.
But much concerns her life after his death, starting with her first sexual assignation, a decade after his death, when she was aged 62 (the ages ending in “2” a theme whose meaning wasn’t clear to me - symbolic or convenient to anchor events and people decades apart?) with a man in his 70s who she met at a party. This the opening to the novel:
Yes. She remembers the full moon, a large, luminescent paper collage against the sky, the fuliginous sky. That was the word he used, the word that stuck with her. She remembers the sharp lines of the full moon. Later, the image made her think of a picture drawn by a child, with the sky’s sootiness, threatening, noxious, replaced by dark navy blue, and a sprinkling of scintillating stars. She doesn’t remember there being stars on the night, but they entered her memory at some point and remained. That image, the transformed image of the view from the car parked to the side of Petersham Road, became associated with the man. But despite what the symbolism of the moon might suggest, she doesn’t remember him as cold and changeable. Perhaps he was but she could not tell at the time, nor could she tell that later but, if pushed, she would read the connection between him and the image that stood for him in her mind as implying art, meaning artfulness, artificiality, even affectedness, and play, as in lack of seriousness, unpredictability, randomness. Ultimately, he remained an enigma but, in her memory, art and play stand for him and for the experience they shared that night.
Another strand concerns her unconventional family arrangement. Zach is someone thirty years her junior. Originally they were lovers but she realised he was in denial about his sexuality and introduced him to Gabriel, a novelist, and started to think of Zach as her son (making her a Jocasta as she likes to label it), which in any case was how people tended to treat them when they dined together or booked a hotel.
Gabriel, her lovely son-in-law. Her novelist son-in-law. His novels have intriguing covers, works of art in themselves. She prefers editions that have no pictures on the cover, classical, minimalist, à la Gallimard, or Fitzcarraldo. All titles with the same plain cover and easily recognisable. But if you are to have a cover, it ought to be designed with care and a great deal of thought. She remembers hearing a publisher saying they were proud to be making books like works of art.
And in another weave of her thoughts she thinks of what her life has ultimately amounted to:
Or perhaps her obituary should say she had the potential to become someone, a professional musician of some standing but she accepted her failure and she was content. Shouldn’t there be obituaries about people who accepted failure? Isn’t that more difficult than riding on success? A Nobel Prize for graceful failure and the acceptance of one’s lot, the ultimate acceptance without regret. A Booker, a Goncourt for coming to terms with one’s failure. Many entries and most well-deserving of the prize. Why not? She remembers a friend, a writer, a poet, a wonderful poet, introducing her to a poem by Yeats, yes, ‘To a friend whose work has come to nothing’. A handsome man he was. Anthony. Yes, that was his name. Could he still be around? Unlikely. Older than Martin. Very unlikely. And she remembers the lines ‘Because of all things known / that is most difficult.’ Most difficult, one’s work coming to nothing. Yes. But . . . but, yes, she had been happy throughout her life. She had a long life, she loved and she was loved. That could be mentioned in the obituary. And she had some great sex. Gosh, everyone would be envious but no one ever writes such things in an obituary. A pity. There is something warped about our hierarchy of achievements. Oh yes, she acquired a son, and what a marvellous son, when she was sixty-three. Not many women can boast that.
Impressive and moving.
April 7, 2025
i hadn’t actually seen or heard of this book, or indeed its author, until i stumbled across it on one of my hour-long waterstones searches. it’s sometimes difficult to come across books which can be deemed life-altering amongst the towers of literature adorning the shelves, but this time i was extremely lucky in my choice.
it follows the thoughts of a woman in her 90s who sits and reflects on her life, fully aware that the vast majority of opportunities and people have passed her by. she delves into specific scenarios and wades through the waters of time, allowing it to trickle through her fingers when she is brave enough to dip her hand in; remembering all that she has loved and all that she has lost. is it really lost, though, if it remains fondly within memory?
the story is utterly beautiful, housing one of the most endearing main characters i have ever come across, and the side-characters are equally as interesting. it’s not a linear storyline by any means; character development doesn’t particularly exist, neither do any plot points. instead, this is a venture into memory, and the moments from the past that she holds close. she places her heart on a platter for the audience to feast upon, and by the end i had fallen completely and utterly in love with her and her musings. truly soul-crushing, yet strangely awe-inspiring.
this is now one of my favourite books of all time, definitely in my top 5. i can only hope that posting this review brings some exposure to this hauntingly captivating piece of literature. flawless.
it follows the thoughts of a woman in her 90s who sits and reflects on her life, fully aware that the vast majority of opportunities and people have passed her by. she delves into specific scenarios and wades through the waters of time, allowing it to trickle through her fingers when she is brave enough to dip her hand in; remembering all that she has loved and all that she has lost. is it really lost, though, if it remains fondly within memory?
the story is utterly beautiful, housing one of the most endearing main characters i have ever come across, and the side-characters are equally as interesting. it’s not a linear storyline by any means; character development doesn’t particularly exist, neither do any plot points. instead, this is a venture into memory, and the moments from the past that she holds close. she places her heart on a platter for the audience to feast upon, and by the end i had fallen completely and utterly in love with her and her musings. truly soul-crushing, yet strangely awe-inspiring.
this is now one of my favourite books of all time, definitely in my top 5. i can only hope that posting this review brings some exposure to this hauntingly captivating piece of literature. flawless.
October 3, 2024
Grateful ARC recipient.
The blurb got me with this one but I didn't know what to expect. This book is a moving, thought-provoking, raw and (at times) graphic reflection on life as a whole. Showcasing the many facets of a woman's life and her many roles, it explores how she is many things to many people but rarely all for herself. This isn't my kind of book, really, and I had to take my time with it, but it was beautifully written and will stay with me for a long time. I'm left remembering a dear friend who was already an elderly widow when we met - she was a complete and whole person as I knew her, and yet had lived many lives before I'd taken breath. The main characters in her story were memories before I had heard of them.
Just a really good book.
The blurb got me with this one but I didn't know what to expect. This book is a moving, thought-provoking, raw and (at times) graphic reflection on life as a whole. Showcasing the many facets of a woman's life and her many roles, it explores how she is many things to many people but rarely all for herself. This isn't my kind of book, really, and I had to take my time with it, but it was beautifully written and will stay with me for a long time. I'm left remembering a dear friend who was already an elderly widow when we met - she was a complete and whole person as I knew her, and yet had lived many lives before I'd taken breath. The main characters in her story were memories before I had heard of them.
Just a really good book.
December 18, 2024
Claire Meadows, married for 30 years, now at the age of 92 looks back on her life after her husband died. It would appear that during her marriage there was little love between her loyal but equally boring husband. As soon as he dies she decides party.... chasing an active and fulfilling sex life. She is now free to discover herself and prove that older women can enjoy life and be in control of their body at any age. An average book with a interesting theme.
October 9, 2024
An exceptional book, written in the voice of a 92 year old woman. Claire is waiting to be taken to the birthday party of a 102 year old friend. As she waits, her mind wanders to her marriage and subsequent romances after her husband Bill died.
Claire has a contemporary voice and the book doesn't come across as nostalgic ramblings. Instead, there are astute observations and learnings about relationships for us, the reader.
Claire married Bill, 20 years her senior, as a young woman, and their roles were very traditional. He constantly referred to her as "my dear, little Claire" and it's clear that as she reflects on the relationship, and what her friend Michael has since said, he didn't see her as an intellectual equal. She can't bring herself to criticise Bill so says that she says that he gave her the stability she needed, as an orphan. She doesn't talk much about being childless and how Bill had had a vasectomy after his child with his first wife died. Instead, she has "adopted" an adult man as her son, after they had an ill-fated fling.
Claire dives into relationships and one night stands after she is widowed, and is wistful that she won;t ever experience physical love or romance now she is in her 90s. "She has realised that regardless of age, everyone needs love, or, at least, everyone dreams of being loved. But when she considers that, the word yuck comes to mind and she admits to herself she would be ashamed to say the sentence about the need for love in front of anyone else for fear of sounding as a heroine from a pulp fiction novel. "
I loved the book and Main's writing. Thank you for bringing us a voice so clear and loud to our attention from an extraordinary and forgotten generation.
Claire has a contemporary voice and the book doesn't come across as nostalgic ramblings. Instead, there are astute observations and learnings about relationships for us, the reader.
Claire married Bill, 20 years her senior, as a young woman, and their roles were very traditional. He constantly referred to her as "my dear, little Claire" and it's clear that as she reflects on the relationship, and what her friend Michael has since said, he didn't see her as an intellectual equal. She can't bring herself to criticise Bill so says that she says that he gave her the stability she needed, as an orphan. She doesn't talk much about being childless and how Bill had had a vasectomy after his child with his first wife died. Instead, she has "adopted" an adult man as her son, after they had an ill-fated fling.
Claire dives into relationships and one night stands after she is widowed, and is wistful that she won;t ever experience physical love or romance now she is in her 90s. "She has realised that regardless of age, everyone needs love, or, at least, everyone dreams of being loved. But when she considers that, the word yuck comes to mind and she admits to herself she would be ashamed to say the sentence about the need for love in front of anyone else for fear of sounding as a heroine from a pulp fiction novel. "
I loved the book and Main's writing. Thank you for bringing us a voice so clear and loud to our attention from an extraordinary and forgotten generation.
July 14, 2025
Waiting for a Party by Vesna Main is an interesting insight into an older woman’s inner life and thoughts; which is not often depicted in literature.
At the age of 92, our main character Claire shares her intimate private life with the readers and takes us on a journey through the decades and loveless marriage.
She reflects on how she was part of the role play which stopped her from truly blossoming as an individual - only upon her husband’s death slowly allowing herself to open up to life’s pleasures leading her to a sexual awakening in her sixties.
Claire had hopes and dreams, and without being sentimental acknowledges the value of her life lived even though not entirely fulfilled.
Sometimes vague, other times crystal clear - the book reads like a train of thoughts; crossing between events and people in her long life.
Some passages are explicit in their recollection which is refreshing and unexpected, but the author does not shy away from all dimensions of life.
I liked the writing, it was simple and honest - left me with a few questions and interesting interpretations. The story might also challenge our attitude and view on ageing and particularly elderly women.
3.5 stars perhaps rounded up to 4.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance digital copy (I also bought the book for my shelf) in exchange for an honest review.
At the age of 92, our main character Claire shares her intimate private life with the readers and takes us on a journey through the decades and loveless marriage.
She reflects on how she was part of the role play which stopped her from truly blossoming as an individual - only upon her husband’s death slowly allowing herself to open up to life’s pleasures leading her to a sexual awakening in her sixties.
Claire had hopes and dreams, and without being sentimental acknowledges the value of her life lived even though not entirely fulfilled.
Sometimes vague, other times crystal clear - the book reads like a train of thoughts; crossing between events and people in her long life.
Some passages are explicit in their recollection which is refreshing and unexpected, but the author does not shy away from all dimensions of life.
I liked the writing, it was simple and honest - left me with a few questions and interesting interpretations. The story might also challenge our attitude and view on ageing and particularly elderly women.
3.5 stars perhaps rounded up to 4.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance digital copy (I also bought the book for my shelf) in exchange for an honest review.
February 12, 2025
This is the story of a 92 year-old woman as she reminiscing about her life and the men that she is loved. She’s about to go to the birthday party of an old friend and neighbour who is 102
The author has a beautiful flowing writing style and this novel probably sits best within the literary novel category.
The book jumps about a bit at the beginning so it’s a bit difficult to tell what stage in the woman’s life has been described. However, as I settle down to reading it, things became clearer.
The author describes our characters perfectly and you feel that you have a good understanding and particularly of the main character by the end of the novel.
The sex scenes are remarkably good hadn’t really expected them I found that they were well written and evocative.
This is a really beautiful novel. I suspect that it will not be a great seller, but I personally really enjoyed reading it and spending the time with the characters.
The book touches some sensitive subjects such as potentially emotionally abusive early marriage with sensitivity and poise
I read a copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. The book was published in the UK on the 15th of November 2024 by salt publishing
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, Goodreads, StoryGraph, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com. It will also appear on Amazon UK.
The author has a beautiful flowing writing style and this novel probably sits best within the literary novel category.
The book jumps about a bit at the beginning so it’s a bit difficult to tell what stage in the woman’s life has been described. However, as I settle down to reading it, things became clearer.
The author describes our characters perfectly and you feel that you have a good understanding and particularly of the main character by the end of the novel.
The sex scenes are remarkably good hadn’t really expected them I found that they were well written and evocative.
This is a really beautiful novel. I suspect that it will not be a great seller, but I personally really enjoyed reading it and spending the time with the characters.
The book touches some sensitive subjects such as potentially emotionally abusive early marriage with sensitivity and poise
I read a copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. The book was published in the UK on the 15th of November 2024 by salt publishing
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, Goodreads, StoryGraph, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com. It will also appear on Amazon UK.
October 10, 2024
Goodness, Vesna Main sure can write. This is first piece of Literature (and that should certainly be with a capital L as it deserves to be classed as such) by Main that I have read, and as I was half way through I was already looking at her back catalogue for my next read. To say I was utterly absorbed is an understatement, her writing is just so beautiful and I felt connected to her characters as if I knew them personally.
This is a book narrated by Claire Meadows, whom we meet at 92 years young, preparing to go to a birthday party of a friend, Martin, aged 102. The book then meanders back and forth, reminiscing through Claire’s life and most intimate experiences. Through this form, we experience Claire’s marriage, friendships, relationships both conventional and unconventional, her loves, her sexual fantasies and sexual experiences (including her first sexual awakening at 62!). The writing is tender, frank, surprising, sensual, sometimes graphic, but always beautiful. It is a book that I know I will re read.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC - I feel honoured to have read this prior to publication.
This is a book narrated by Claire Meadows, whom we meet at 92 years young, preparing to go to a birthday party of a friend, Martin, aged 102. The book then meanders back and forth, reminiscing through Claire’s life and most intimate experiences. Through this form, we experience Claire’s marriage, friendships, relationships both conventional and unconventional, her loves, her sexual fantasies and sexual experiences (including her first sexual awakening at 62!). The writing is tender, frank, surprising, sensual, sometimes graphic, but always beautiful. It is a book that I know I will re read.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC - I feel honoured to have read this prior to publication.
July 30, 2024
I have read several works by Vesna Main, and I am always impressed by her writing. 'Waiting for a Party' is absolutely no exception. Fundamentally, this is a novel that is uplifting - it challenges assumptions of age and sexuality, and of love. This is what Vesna Main does best: challenges readers to think and rethink. Claire, the protagonist of this novel is 92, and the novel opens with her waiting for her ex-lover, now adopted son, Zach, to take her to a friend's 102nd birthday party. Claire ruminates on her life and her loves; her marriage and the death of her husband; her relationship with Zach; her sex life. I found it utterly moving, and I know the ending will stay with me. What a great privilege to read the ARC - my grateful thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher. Very highly recommended.
April 23, 2025
Claire Meadows is a retired piano teacher, a widow, and is waiting at home to get a lift to her friend Martin’s 102nd birthday party. As she waits she looks back over her long life and reminisces about her past. Now 92, she has a lot to reflect on. The stream of consciousness narrative lets the reader share her inner world and it’s a poignant, though never sentimental, exploration of an older woman’s quest for identity and fulfilment, which delves into her sexual desires and fantasies, an aspect of her life she was able to indulge after her husband's death, something that that is rarely tackled in fiction about old age. Candid, honest and insightful, I found it a truly compelling read, beautifully and empathetically written, and Claire is a character who will long remain with me.
January 2, 2025
This is a stunning book. The writing is gorgeous and confident, with insightful observations woven into elegant prose. The novel follows a withheld woman who, after the death of her husband, embarks on a journey of sexual and mental liberation. Recounting this journey from the perspective of her nineties, the protagonist offers a poignant reflection on desire, loss, and the enduring power of the human spirit. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for more of Vesna's work!
Book kindly supplied by NetGalley for an honest review.
Book kindly supplied by NetGalley for an honest review.
October 28, 2024
Written from the perspective an old woman reminiscing about her life, especially from 60 years onwards this is a very interesting read. So many true observations about the assumptions that are made about older women read true. Some of the more sexual passages seemed unnecessary but maybe that’s just me.
Good recognition that older women have lives and fantasies too.
I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Good recognition that older women have lives and fantasies too.
I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
July 3, 2024
Thank you #netgalley for an ARC.
Full review to follow.
To sum up till then, the strong suits of this book for me were the autenticity and honesty in Claire’s life experience, and secondly, that we could never trust her accounting of the events in her life, and neither could she. The third POV + the unreliability was a nice mix.
Full review to follow.
To sum up till then, the strong suits of this book for me were the autenticity and honesty in Claire’s life experience, and secondly, that we could never trust her accounting of the events in her life, and neither could she. The third POV + the unreliability was a nice mix.
Read
November 14, 2024This is a stream-of-consciousness character study, although there are occasional steps into Elizabeth Is Missing territory. Fluently written, it is ideal for fans of character-led literary fiction.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
November 17, 2024
I started this book twice, but found it really difficult to get into; the long sentences and paragraph at the beginning didn't give me anything interesting that I thought I would like to know more about. I did persevere but, unusually for me, eventually gave up as I found the writer's style too ponderous to engage with.
Thank you to netgalley and Salt publishing for an advance copy of this book.
Thank you to netgalley and Salt publishing for an advance copy of this book.
October 7, 2024
Sadly not a book for me, her reflections on the death of her husband and sexual relationship with a much younger man.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eArc, sadly a DNF.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eArc, sadly a DNF.
July 19, 2025
Youtube Review Here - https://youtu.be/qkDYDbBYkL0
December 23, 2025
I also love Anohni.
November 17, 2024
👵🏻 Refreshingly unique
👵🏻 Sexual liberation at 60+
👵🏻 Friendship
Claire is 92. She’s waiting to be collected to go to a party. She’s thinking back to the most formative years of her life. This is not a coming of age novel. Claire’s voyage of self discovery takes a steep curve at 62, after the death of her husband.
I was drawn to the premise of a woman in her later life finding sexual liberation after a particularly vanilla marriage. I got that (in spades) but this novel offers so much more.
Main’s character writing is outstanding. These are well developed, complex and ultimately loveable characters who form beautiful, sometimes unconventional, relationships. This book is just as much about Claire’s relationship with her best friend or her interaction with the act of remembering as her (explicit) sexual exploits.
I read this compulsively and have thought about it often since. I think Claire is a new favourite character and I am grateful to Main for writing from such a refreshing perspective. I would LOVE to see this on the Women’s Prize Longlist.
I read this on ebook kindly gifted by saltpublishing on NetGalley.
👵🏻 Sexual liberation at 60+
👵🏻 Friendship
Claire is 92. She’s waiting to be collected to go to a party. She’s thinking back to the most formative years of her life. This is not a coming of age novel. Claire’s voyage of self discovery takes a steep curve at 62, after the death of her husband.
I was drawn to the premise of a woman in her later life finding sexual liberation after a particularly vanilla marriage. I got that (in spades) but this novel offers so much more.
Main’s character writing is outstanding. These are well developed, complex and ultimately loveable characters who form beautiful, sometimes unconventional, relationships. This book is just as much about Claire’s relationship with her best friend or her interaction with the act of remembering as her (explicit) sexual exploits.
I read this compulsively and have thought about it often since. I think Claire is a new favourite character and I am grateful to Main for writing from such a refreshing perspective. I would LOVE to see this on the Women’s Prize Longlist.
I read this on ebook kindly gifted by saltpublishing on NetGalley.
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