"Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes" is Jules Moulin debut novel. The title is absolutely brilliant, and also the premise to this book sounded really promising, so when I was asked if I want to be a part of Blog Tour for this novel, I didn't hesitate and immediately agreed.
It quickly turned out that this book was not this what I was expecting, although I am not sure what I was expecting :) Maybe more of the promised Tracy Bloom's humour? Having in mind this brilliant title suggesting something light, fluffy and funny, I found this novel to be a slow story about middle - age Ally, uncertain and shrinking violets, not knowing what she wants from life, her demanding and spoiled daughter and no plot. Single mum and professor Ally, after getting pregnant at seventeen, has devoted her life to her only daughter and her job, and the only good sex that she had was almost the only one in her life, yes she send the lover, who was her former student, away. Because he is 10 years younger. Because Ally doesn't deserve happiness. Because what people are going to say. Because what Ally's mother is going to say!
Fast forward, 10 years later, Ally's daughter brings the same student, now with a different name and a famous actor, and "People's" most sexiest alive, to Ally for dinner. How Ally managed not to know that Jack is now Noah, no idea.
I couldn't get used to the writing style, the short sentences (yes, yes, I get it, this is the way people communicate, but there were almost no descriptions, and as much as too many narration is not good, no narration is also not good). The storyline jumps between Ally's no - existent sex life, her daughter's needing money for a nose job, Jack's "perfect penis" and then a cyber - sex trade. Sometimes it truly sounded absurd and I guess it was done on purpose, so that we should read the story with a pinch of salt. The banter was hilarious, the conversations Ally had with her daughter sounded just like mother - daughter conversations, full of understatements and misapprehensions, and altogether, it also sounded a little too unbelievable.
But I totally adored the mother - daughter relationship, it was incredibly sharply observed and brilliantly captured, the way they didn't want to show how much they need each other, how they were trying to avoid each other, yet they couldn't live without each other. Just like in real life, right, when we are not ready to cut this proverbial umbilical cord.
The chapters were jumping back and forth, from past to present and from present to past, and while I usually don't have problems with this kind of telling a story, here it just left me hanging in the air - mostly the chapters ended with some kind of information, question, they were left open and we knew that some kind of continuation is required, but then the next chapter was telling us a totally different story, from different point of view and when the author brought back the events from the previous chapters, they were already forgotten by me.
But I think I know what the author was trying to achieve, and I appreciate her trying it. It is a debut novel and while Jules Moulin must probably find her voice, I will be gladly reading whatever next she has in store for us. "Ally Hughes Has sex Sometimes" was an easy, light, sexy and quick read, and the characters are likeable, the way they behave and speak is relatable. I am really sad I didn't love this book as much as I thought I will be, I'm sure it's "not you, it's me" case, so please be sure to check this debut novel for yourself.
Copy received from publisher in exchange for a review.