Hens Dancing

by Raffaella Barker

Hilarity and tenderness abound in this novel narrated in pages torn from the diary of one Venetia Summers, a thirty-something divorced mother of three who resides in rural England and is owner of, among other things, controlling shares in her ex-husband’s pet mortuary and numerous pairs of oddly colored Wellingtons.

While Venetia’s life may not be as glamorous as the one she left behind in the city ten years ago, it certainly isn’t dull. She has two exuberant young boys and one splendid baby girl–known simply as The Beauty–to feed and outfit and keep happy. Other responsibilities include upkeep of a lovely but ramshackle old house, complete with a garden growing with wild abandon, and the care of a variety of bloomered bantam hens. Then there’s her mother, sometimes helpful and supportive but more often busy tossing back vodka and smoking cigarettes; a rather cute but presumptuous bathroom contractor and his oversexed Labrador; and various other friends, relations and country characters who dart in and out of Venetia’s life, wreaking havoc along the way.

Fortunately for her, Venetia is the sort who can find beauty in the surrounding mayhem, and fortunately for us, she records it all with wry wit and great verve, sharing the joys and sometimes dubious pleasures of raising a family in the English countryside.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, British Literature, Humor, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Novels

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Raffaella Barker was born in London in 1964 and moved to Norfolk when she was three. Her father, the poet George Barker, had 15 children; she is the oldest of those by the novelist Elspeth Barker.

She spent her childhood in Norfolk sulking and refusing to get dressed, going everywhere in her nightie. She recalls worrying about how to respond at school when asked how many brothers and sisters she had. She did not know the answer.

After Norwich High School, Raffaella Barker moved to London and did life modelling and film-editing. She landed a job on Harpers & Queen magazine and later freelanced as its motoring columnist. For 10 years she wrote a column for Country Life about her week.

Her debut novel Come and Tell Me Some Lies was published in 1994, followed by The Hook, Hens Dancing, Summertime, Green Grass, the children's book Phosphorescence and A Perfect Life.

Divorced, she lives in Norfolk with her three children aged 17, 15 and eight.

Reviews

[Teresa D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny.Note to Ms Barker:Write novel about life of Venetia's mum.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to know where to start reviewing on a book I so absolutely adore as much as "Hens Dancing." I guess I should start by saying that I am not a mother, let alone a single divorced mother of three. That having been said, It had no bearing on my enjoyment of this book. I am extremely British in my sensibilities, and grew up with a lot of the terms and pop culture references mentioned in the book. The fact that Teletubbies are mentioned so frequently really gets me, because in 1999, I had three small nephews, two of which where very into the Tubbies, and I had spent a lot of time with them, as they lived nearby. The main character, Venetia Summers ,is, in a word, hilarious. She is a typical mother...she gets annoyed with her kids on occasion, her house is not always a paragon of cleanliness (to put it mildly), and her pets and wacky friends and family are frequent source of either irritation or complete hilarity. She is very real, and makes one feel it's okay not to be absolutely perfect.
There is also a very sweet love story between her and the handyman, David, who is, as the Brits would put it, entirely dishy. A character I particularly loved was Gawain, the godfather of Venetia's children, who is completely ridiculous, and determined to woo her.( I picture him as a Hugh Laurie type.If you read this book you will see I mean.) I'm not into giving plot spoilers, but hopefully you will read this book and experience it's charms for yourself!

[Christie Purifoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the breezy, humorous diary-style of Bridget Jones, if Bridget were a divorced, mother-of-three, who lives in the country. I enjoyed this so much more than I anticipated. On the surface, it appears to be very light and fluffy and would probably be classified with that horrible term chick-lit, yet I found so much more to appreciate and enjoy. The central character is a keen observer of nature, and she comes alive in the natural world in a way that is truthful and inspiring. Yet, her pretensions to gardening and homemaking are constantly being deflated by all-too-real hardships and mishaps. I try not to judge books based on how much I relate to the main character, but I loved this book because the main character reminded me so much of myself. I, too, order seed packets in a flurry of gardening optimism only to forget about them when planting times comes. Also, the romance is very sweet and delightfully subtle.

[Dree · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book at the dollar bookstore. Picked it up because of the title. Bought it because of good goodreads rating--and the back cover has a silver-laced wyandotte!

Not good reasons to buy a book.

I can't believe I read the whole thing. Not funny. Main character is a whiney insecure divorcee who likes to buy stuff. She has 2 sons and a bratty daughter ("the Beauty", really). Mom constantly there to help. Not poorly written, just sooooo boring.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

zoveelste x herlezen, kennelijk nog niet sinds ik goodreads heb :) weer heerlijk, feelgood, grappig en heerlijk engels

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Georgette Heyer allusions are super! This is laugh-out-loud funny

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Hens Dancing' takes the form of a diary written by a mother of three in Norfolk over the course of a year. Initially I thought the subject was too close to home to be enjoyable! But soon it won me over with its (often laugh-out-loud) humour and charm, and I sympathised with almost all of the situations that Venetia finds herself in. The narrative is driven by her recent separation from her husband and the arrival on the scene of a bathroom designer.... Will everything work out well?! Meanwhile, descriptions of a rain-socked Cornish holiday, the childrens' attempts at birthday gifts, embarrassing dogs and mothers, etc. are masterful. A light-hearted Easter holiday read.

[Sophie Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frothy and delightful.

[Suzi Towler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favourite that I read on an almost annual basis. It's set very close to home and Venetia seems like an old friend. Wonderfully funny comfort read.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this treasure of a book with its quirky title and journal style story-telling.

The book covers one year of Venetia Summers' life beginning with the day she believes her husband is having an affair after ten years, 2 young sons, and a daughter soon to be born. Veneitia simply doesn't have the energy or interest to even care even if it is Valentine's Day.

Sure enough, The Beauty (there is no other name for this charming and adorable baby daughter) is just 8 months old and the marriage is over. Seems that Venetia was right and husband Charles has moved on to marry his masseuse that doesn't include his children unless the notion strikes him. Venetia is left in the small country home (she gave up the London life when she married Charles) with her only job as writing brochures and leaflets for various businesses.

Now, the plot seems over-done, but what I loved about this one is that there is no chest-beating, hair-pulling, spiteful actions, searching for a new man to love, etc. Nope, Venetia is fine with her chickens and pigs and riotous garden and crumbling home and dirty laundry....she knows her priorities--her children. And while her parenting skills are, well, unorthodox to say the least, she loves them fiercely and makes lemonade out of lemons. Her support system is quirky--but always there for her and ready to celebrate at the drop of a hat.

I laughed out loud so many times at the antics of this entire loveable group of family/friends. So many books written in journal style just don't allow the reader to get a good visual of incidents or a good sense of those beyond the person writing the journal, but Venetia's (Barker's) ability to write it all down and pull me into the story was refreshing. I didn't miss a thing.

I loved this book so much that I jumped up and down in the library (I used to work there, so they know how excited I can get) when I found the book (Summertime) that picks up where this one left off. I don't know whether to save it for a long, rainy day or delve right into now!

[West Hartford Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this charming book! The narrator is Venetia, a single mother of two active little boys and a cherubic baby girl whose name is never revealed, she is simply referred to at all times as The Beauty. They live in the English countryside, where Venetia copes with life_s daily frustrations (sick kids, flat tires, home repairs) while raising chickens, pigs, and planting her garden. There is the requisite cast of eccentric relatives and friends, and a rather predictable romantic thread, but it_s so well done that none of it comes across as contrived. It_s funny and smart and packed with delightful British customs and language. Like many of us, Venetia is a harried mom, trying to juggle work and house and kids, buoyed by her friends, family, wine, and chocolate.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hens Dancing was a fun book to read. The characters are hilarious and my favorite was "The Beauty", Venetia Summers' baby daughter. It is about life in the English countryside. Venetia and Children have lots of funny adventures. Venetia learns in the end that life can go on and she can take care of her family with a little help from her friends after her husband leaves her for "The Midget". Sprinkled with hilarious incidents and a few odd characters, it was an enjoyable book.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, light diary-style book about a recently divorced mother of three. Funny and interesting, there are some adult subjects and language but nothing that made me throw the book across the room.

Venetia is the ultimate relatable woman. She's always biting off more than she can chew, always a mess, always behind. You can't help but love her because she goes at life so fully.

[Chana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it. It is sweet but not saccharine. Instead it is quirky, funny, irreverent and truthful about what it is to be a mother and a woman. It is also British which makes it much funnier than American books usually are. I was often laughing while I read this and I cried too.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly entertaining. Some witty observations, some lovely visual depictions of the English countryside, but mostly one dimensional. The plot and characters are never fully developed, thus the book comes to a conclusion in an unsatisfactory manner.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a happy holiday read, light but fun. Venetia is in her mid thirties when her husband leaves her with three children. As her husband starts his new life with the Pygmy, who is appears to be having twins through what Venetia terms immaculate conception, we follow Venetia for a year through her diary entries. Living in rural Norfolk with a helpful mother nearby, children at private school, and a whole bunch of helpful friends is far more fun than I had anticipated, especially with the frequent visits of her bathroom designer. Venetia is likeable, even when she is lemon faced (her phrase) and her children are just lovely. A worthy summer holiday read.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as a feel good book. Needed some humour after trying to read dark The Good People for the second time. Still haven’t got further than 4 chapters on that book. Hens Dancing is written as a diary of almost daily events by Venetia in her country house. She is divorced about 35 with three children, Giles, Felix and The Beauty. Humourous and very apropos with her comments about life with children, animals and friends.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Venetia, pregnant with her daughter, after 2 sons, realizes that her husband is cheating on her. She finds out her suspicions are true and she ends up in their country home, raising her boys and “The Beauty” as she likes to call her daughter. The story follows their ups and downs as Venetia navigates life with a “carry on” attitude with the help of her friends and her handyman, David. This a delightful, light read as we see her sometimes unorthodox methods for taking on life.

[Sue Lilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories about children and animals wouldn’t normally be my first choice so I can’t remember why I bought this. But I have to say I loved it! All the characters were adorable and I couldn’t put it down. It was a real treat during the gloom of post-election bickering. Minus a star as I was disappointed with the ending. It was very abrupt and I’d been enjoying it so much.

[Teda A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life is short and I no longer finish books that aren’t thoroughly enjoyable. This was just OK. I stopped in the middle to read my just-arrived David Sedaris ... and I just don’t care if I go back and finish this. It’s cute and quirky in a Brit kind of way that feels familiar. You might like it more than I did.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out which year we were in. There are so many references to things from the 80s and then some from the 90s the dates of when things were decommissioned just don't make sense. Maybe I'm over thinking!
An enjoyable read none the less.

[VeeAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different style. Written like a diary in first person but in present tense as it was happening. Not really a plot to speak of - more the daily life of a recently divorced mom of three living in the English countryside. Still I enjoyed it and found a lot that I related to. Pleasant read.

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely lovely story. I prolonged the ending because I loved the journey. And I would be mad at the beautiful, but kind of cliffhanger-ish ending, but I know there’s another one so I’m all agog, simply agog! ❤️

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a big fan of the informal diary writing style and shortcuts the author was taking. There were also countless characters and it was hard to keep track of who was what. I kept hoping the story would improve but it never did.

[Jessie Atack · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first book that I’ve read from this author. A very light easy read, some humour and a predictable ending. I don’t think I’d rush to read another book by this author as it’s a little too twee for me.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 2015, I found a review that I had written in 2004.

Written in diary form, this novel is told from the point of view of a newly-divorced mother of three who lives in the country. It lacks substance and does not even provide any good laughs.

[Bookworman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Couldn’t get into it and gave up after the first section

[Cathy Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book - a feel good go-to that is just that little bit different!

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. I fully expected to enjoy this book and to breeze through it. But I just can’t get into it.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely hysterical perfect light cozy fun read