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The Best Kind of Beautiful
'The Best Kind of Beautiful is the best kind of touching, funny, whimsical and mysterious! A special story about a delightful family.' Liane Moriarty'All heart. All soul. All kinds of beautiful.' Trent Dalton, author of Boy Swallows Universe'Warm, witty, provocative, a wise observer of human nature, family, life.' Quentin Bryce AD CVOFlorence Saint Claire is a loner. Albert Flowers is a social butterfly. Good friends who think they know each other.But, somewhere between who they are, and who people think they are, lies The Best Kind of Beautiful.Award-winning journalist and author Frances Whiting brings her renowned warmth and empathy to this witty and gentle novel about bringing out the best in each other.
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First published October 29, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
November 9, 2019
I adored this book, loved it from the first few pages.
Centred around a quirky family who make up a family music group, the Saint Claire Swingers. Their claim to fame was and still is the very popular song ‘Santa Was A Jazz Cat’
But really this is about Florence, the eldest of three children trying to find her place in the world. She hasn’t sung with her family for a number of years since a bout of stage fright. She now works in the local library with the ‘Green Team’ educating groups regarding local flora and fauna. Florence has a good friendship with colleague Albert Flowers but his outside world seems so far away from hers....or is it? They just can’t quite seem to meet in the middle.
This book was gentle and amusing but what I really loved was for all the individual family members quirks and faults, they understand and are there for each other.
If your looking for a book to transport you away, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Now I’m off to find the author’s previous novel that I have missed.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.
Centred around a quirky family who make up a family music group, the Saint Claire Swingers. Their claim to fame was and still is the very popular song ‘Santa Was A Jazz Cat’
But really this is about Florence, the eldest of three children trying to find her place in the world. She hasn’t sung with her family for a number of years since a bout of stage fright. She now works in the local library with the ‘Green Team’ educating groups regarding local flora and fauna. Florence has a good friendship with colleague Albert Flowers but his outside world seems so far away from hers....or is it? They just can’t quite seem to meet in the middle.
This book was gentle and amusing but what I really loved was for all the individual family members quirks and faults, they understand and are there for each other.
If your looking for a book to transport you away, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Now I’m off to find the author’s previous novel that I have missed.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.
April 26, 2020
I’ve been reading, and a fan of, Frances Whiting’s column in the Sunday Mail newspaper for years so I knew her book would be quirky and funny. What I wasn’t expecting was just how poignantly beautiful I’d find this, her second fictional novel. Actually, the best way I’d describe The Best Kind of Beautiful is just that.
Whiting’s descriptive passages enchanted me immediately. She beautifies the plot and characters with flowers and books and songs and costumes. I could picture all the character so clearly, before and after they peeled away their layers. (This is one of the major themes of the book–that most people have secrets and hidden depths beneath their public personae.)
Florence, our heroine, is part of a famous family of jazz musicians who turns her back on their act to become a horticulturist. Her unique upbringing has made her socially awkward and she has very few friends. One person she does consider a friend is her gardening workmate, the wonderfully named Albert Flowers. She would, in fact, like to be more than just friends with Albert but every time she attempts to take the next logical step in their relationship she says something abrupt and rude instead of witty or charming as she imagines in her head beforehand.
Albert, Florence believes, has no such issues when it comes to making friends and socialising. Each week she gets to hear about the various functions he’s attended, leaving her feeling even more isolated and alone. And the reader is left wondering if these two unusual characters will ever ‘meet in the middle’ and become romantically involved.
The characters’ behaviour in the present is shaped by their pasts and Whiting weaves the timelines together with a deft hand. Little by little we learn more and more about each character and the heartbreaking stories that make them act as they do. (Yes, I did shed a tear once or twice.) Gradually Florence too gets to see the full picture and she realises that her judgement of those nearest and dearest to her is not always warranted.
If you don’t like conventional romances and instead are looking for something more subtle within the pages of general fiction, I’d recommend this book. Oh, the romantic plotline is there but so is the story of acceptance, being true to yourself, and a couple of sweet familial love stories.
I will whine about the book’s ambiguous setting and Whiting’s use of fictional suburbs. In my mind I settled on Sydney as the setting, especially given the scope of the jazz/cabaret scene, but Whiting never really specifies this and she often includes descriptions that elicit a more tropical feeling. It was all very Australian, especially the language the characters used, but using a mishmash of fictional locations didn’t work as much as just defining a place would have for me.
It’s a minor gripe though as I really liked this book and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
4 ½ out of 5
Whiting’s descriptive passages enchanted me immediately. She beautifies the plot and characters with flowers and books and songs and costumes. I could picture all the character so clearly, before and after they peeled away their layers. (This is one of the major themes of the book–that most people have secrets and hidden depths beneath their public personae.)
Florence, our heroine, is part of a famous family of jazz musicians who turns her back on their act to become a horticulturist. Her unique upbringing has made her socially awkward and she has very few friends. One person she does consider a friend is her gardening workmate, the wonderfully named Albert Flowers. She would, in fact, like to be more than just friends with Albert but every time she attempts to take the next logical step in their relationship she says something abrupt and rude instead of witty or charming as she imagines in her head beforehand.
Albert, Florence believes, has no such issues when it comes to making friends and socialising. Each week she gets to hear about the various functions he’s attended, leaving her feeling even more isolated and alone. And the reader is left wondering if these two unusual characters will ever ‘meet in the middle’ and become romantically involved.
The characters’ behaviour in the present is shaped by their pasts and Whiting weaves the timelines together with a deft hand. Little by little we learn more and more about each character and the heartbreaking stories that make them act as they do. (Yes, I did shed a tear once or twice.) Gradually Florence too gets to see the full picture and she realises that her judgement of those nearest and dearest to her is not always warranted.
If you don’t like conventional romances and instead are looking for something more subtle within the pages of general fiction, I’d recommend this book. Oh, the romantic plotline is there but so is the story of acceptance, being true to yourself, and a couple of sweet familial love stories.
I will whine about the book’s ambiguous setting and Whiting’s use of fictional suburbs. In my mind I settled on Sydney as the setting, especially given the scope of the jazz/cabaret scene, but Whiting never really specifies this and she often includes descriptions that elicit a more tropical feeling. It was all very Australian, especially the language the characters used, but using a mishmash of fictional locations didn’t work as much as just defining a place would have for me.
It’s a minor gripe though as I really liked this book and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
4 ½ out of 5
September 8, 2019
Wonderful! For my money, this is Frances' best book yet, I loved it. Such quirky characters, engaging and fascinating accompanied by a story of acceptance for those who find they don't fit the mould. Many lovely turns of phrase, plus imagery that is so unique to Australia. I saw a little of each of the characters' traits in myself and my family! Thank you to Pan Macmillan for the advance copy in return for an honest review. And thank you for a delightful read, Frances.
August 2, 2020
The Best Kind of Beautiful (Pan Macmillan 2019), the second novel by Frances Whiting, is the best kind of book, especially for these weird times we’re living through, with readers often searching out novels that are light-hearted, funny, warm, poignant and uplifting. This is a book about ordinary people living ordinary lives and yet from amidst the banal, Whiting sifts the magical and the poetic, the wise and the wonderful, and transports both the characters and the reader onto a different level.
This book is about two loners who find each other; two people with difficult pasts who find a way to connect. Albert Flowers loves all things botanical. He works for The Green Team, with offices based in the local library, and is on a mission to replant native bushland in the Mount Bell State Forest. He seems quiet and isolated at work, but appears to have an active social life, with parties almost every weekend. Florence Saint Claire also works at The Green Team, and also has a green thumb. Unlike Albert, she really is a loner, revelling in the monotony of her work as she escapes the public scrutiny of her past life with her famous performing family. These two souls connect and befriend each other, but little do they realise that each is not quite what the other seems. Secrets and lies abound, and as the novel progresses, both of their tragic family histories are revealed. The yearning ambitions each have nurtured but concealed, related to work and family, friendships and achievement, are nudged into the open as they begin to trust each other.
Whiting deconstructs the dynamics of family as she explores each of the main character’s backgrounds. With a huge cast, the novel gradually reveals Albert’s troubled past and Florence’s equally difficult history, with all of their family members coming to life through a complex recounting of past events. There is a large cast of minor characters, too, who are integral to the plot: friends, neighbours, colleagues … all play a part in the circumstances that bring Florence and Albert spinning towards each other.
The themes of the novel include companionship, love, friendship, parental love and family. The author does a particularly good job of navigating the suffocating grip of grief, and of depicting how the ripples of loss can reverberate long after someone is gone. And all of this revolves around the twin subjects of music and gardens, which are celebrated as rejuvenations for the human spirit.
This is a perfect holiday read; an ideal gift for your mother or your sister or your best friend. Whiting is a superb writer of the human experience, and this is demonstrated in her witty dialogue and her sharp observations of the foibles and fallibilities we all experience. You are guaranteed to recognise some aspect of your parents, your children, your neighbours or perhaps even yourself.
This book is about two loners who find each other; two people with difficult pasts who find a way to connect. Albert Flowers loves all things botanical. He works for The Green Team, with offices based in the local library, and is on a mission to replant native bushland in the Mount Bell State Forest. He seems quiet and isolated at work, but appears to have an active social life, with parties almost every weekend. Florence Saint Claire also works at The Green Team, and also has a green thumb. Unlike Albert, she really is a loner, revelling in the monotony of her work as she escapes the public scrutiny of her past life with her famous performing family. These two souls connect and befriend each other, but little do they realise that each is not quite what the other seems. Secrets and lies abound, and as the novel progresses, both of their tragic family histories are revealed. The yearning ambitions each have nurtured but concealed, related to work and family, friendships and achievement, are nudged into the open as they begin to trust each other.
Whiting deconstructs the dynamics of family as she explores each of the main character’s backgrounds. With a huge cast, the novel gradually reveals Albert’s troubled past and Florence’s equally difficult history, with all of their family members coming to life through a complex recounting of past events. There is a large cast of minor characters, too, who are integral to the plot: friends, neighbours, colleagues … all play a part in the circumstances that bring Florence and Albert spinning towards each other.
The themes of the novel include companionship, love, friendship, parental love and family. The author does a particularly good job of navigating the suffocating grip of grief, and of depicting how the ripples of loss can reverberate long after someone is gone. And all of this revolves around the twin subjects of music and gardens, which are celebrated as rejuvenations for the human spirit.
This is a perfect holiday read; an ideal gift for your mother or your sister or your best friend. Whiting is a superb writer of the human experience, and this is demonstrated in her witty dialogue and her sharp observations of the foibles and fallibilities we all experience. You are guaranteed to recognise some aspect of your parents, your children, your neighbours or perhaps even yourself.
March 14, 2022
The Best Kind of Beautiful is a novel about quirky people from quirky families. Mainly Florence Saint Claire, who is an ex child-performer, with a prickly personality, now working as a gardener, and Albert Flowers who works with her. Each of them is hiding parts of themselves and the story is about finding themselves and, in turn, finding others. There are some secrets…I don’t want to say too much, though, because I enjoyed the way the plot surprised me.
Whiting has written a sneaky book. Initially, I was iffy about several main protagonists and I wondered if I would end up liking Florence at all. It worsened when I met two of her friends and wished that the book was about one of them instead (Veronica, an American preacher's daughter). I wasn’t wholly invested in the characters until a third of the way through. To be clear, it wasn’t difficult to continue, it just hadn’t grabbed me fully. But grab me it did. I would absolutely have missed out had I stopped reading too soon because it turned into a story I didn’t want to put down.
Florence became a person who I could really get behind and Albert, who I initially liked, I ended up loving. They were made even better by the surprises they gave me. I also enjoyed the sweet relationship between the three Saint Claire children as they came to understand and accept themselves and their family. The novel deals with stories of loss in a beautiful, moving way. I’m not much of a crier — I don’t think I’ve ever cried from reading a book — yet at one point I felt a huge knot in my throat when I found out someone’s backstory. I was impressed.
I sensed shades of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere and Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine in The Best Kind of Beautiful (and that’s good news because I adored both of those novels!) and despite the minor shaky start this was a delight to read. And yes, I will be looking out for more by Whiting.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia and Netgalley for the copy in exchange for honest review.
Whiting has written a sneaky book. Initially, I was iffy about several main protagonists and I wondered if I would end up liking Florence at all. It worsened when I met two of her friends and wished that the book was about one of them instead (Veronica, an American preacher's daughter). I wasn’t wholly invested in the characters until a third of the way through. To be clear, it wasn’t difficult to continue, it just hadn’t grabbed me fully. But grab me it did. I would absolutely have missed out had I stopped reading too soon because it turned into a story I didn’t want to put down.
Florence became a person who I could really get behind and Albert, who I initially liked, I ended up loving. They were made even better by the surprises they gave me. I also enjoyed the sweet relationship between the three Saint Claire children as they came to understand and accept themselves and their family. The novel deals with stories of loss in a beautiful, moving way. I’m not much of a crier — I don’t think I’ve ever cried from reading a book — yet at one point I felt a huge knot in my throat when I found out someone’s backstory. I was impressed.
I sensed shades of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere and Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine in The Best Kind of Beautiful (and that’s good news because I adored both of those novels!) and despite the minor shaky start this was a delight to read. And yes, I will be looking out for more by Whiting.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia and Netgalley for the copy in exchange for honest review.
March 17, 2020
This is a sweet and quirky book with a lovely underlying message. The message I took from it was that everyone is usually not what they seem and families and individuals are always flawed despite appearances. It was an easy read and the characters were all likeable and deliberate within the story. To me it didn’t feel like an Australian story - at times it felt English with town names and house names having that sense - and it’s setting was slightly off putting to me as a result. It took me a while to read as it didn’t just grab me and drag me into it ....but I still liked it a lot.
February 14, 2020
This one was a beauty! I really loved the pace, the characters and the witty and clever observations. The premise that not everyone is how they appear on the surface is given a light and entertaining treatment in this novel and it was just what I felt like reading. Florence Saint Claire, former child star and Albert Flowers, nature-loving party-goer both reveal their true selves over the course of this sweet story and I enjoyed every moment of it.
February 6, 2020
I loved this simple story and the poem in the acknowledgements.... be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid. This is a book about the quieter people, finding their passion and taking small bold steps. 8.5 out of 10. And the best kind of beautiful for me? Appreciating people for their less beautiful moments, their flaws and vulnerabilities.
December 27, 2019
I absolutely adored this book. A sweet tale of two awkward people.
February 6, 2020
Read it on a beach, on a plane, in a waiting room. A quick, light-hearted novel and you won’t feel bad about dog-earing the pages. Find me a hunky plant-loving mixologist please.
January 27, 2020
I enjoyed the names of the characters (Florence, Albert, Orla, Isolde), the settings (2 of my favourite places, library and forest) and the jazz background because it is different to the norm in novels I have read.
All the ingredients were there for a fabulous story, however; I found the main characters a bit irritating/frustrating and the story was too slow moving for me. Especially the friendship/relationship between Florence and Albert.
Not a bad read, but didn't love it.
All the ingredients were there for a fabulous story, however; I found the main characters a bit irritating/frustrating and the story was too slow moving for me. Especially the friendship/relationship between Florence and Albert.
Not a bad read, but didn't love it.
November 17, 2019
I loved the premise of this book, the setting and story line, and I love the whole meaning behind 'The Best kind of beautiful'. I just love those words alone. But sadly, this one didn't grab me like 'Walking on Trampolines' did. That is one of my all time favourite books. I really wanted to love it.
January 23, 2020
I loved this book. It is funny, quirky and just delightful. The characters are so endearing and the story just wraps itself around you and pulls you in from the very beginning.I will definitely be looking up and reading all she has written.
January 4, 2020
A beautiful story of two people who think they don’t fit in but fit perfectly together and about the real and messy families who support them
April 6, 2020
I’ll make it short and sweet...I just loved this book!
August 3, 2023
I honestly couldn’t sum up the storyline of this under the radar book from 2019 better than copying the blurb itself so here goes:
“Florence Saint Claire, former child star, generally prefers plants to people. She's a reluctant member of a musical family with a legendary father, an impossible mother, a sister who can't keep still and a brother who walks to his own beat. Albert Flowers is a people person, life rushing at him from all corners, carrying him to weddings and parties and late nights in rooftop bars. Florence and Albert work together, they plant dreams in the forest together. They think they know each other. But, somewhere between who they are, and who people think they are, lies The Best Kind of Beautiful.”
I listened to this book on audio and it was just the perfect blend of feel good, hints at romance, bring it all together in a nice happy ending type book that I love to throw into the mix every now and then.
Sure, it's not a literary masterpiece and nor is it a hot and heavy steamy romance but sometimes I do just like my stories light and happy. This was read well by the narrator and made for a very pleasant reading experience.
I have never seen a review on this one but I’d definitely recommend picking it up if you like your fiction warm and fuzzy.
“Florence Saint Claire, former child star, generally prefers plants to people. She's a reluctant member of a musical family with a legendary father, an impossible mother, a sister who can't keep still and a brother who walks to his own beat. Albert Flowers is a people person, life rushing at him from all corners, carrying him to weddings and parties and late nights in rooftop bars. Florence and Albert work together, they plant dreams in the forest together. They think they know each other. But, somewhere between who they are, and who people think they are, lies The Best Kind of Beautiful.”
I listened to this book on audio and it was just the perfect blend of feel good, hints at romance, bring it all together in a nice happy ending type book that I love to throw into the mix every now and then.
Sure, it's not a literary masterpiece and nor is it a hot and heavy steamy romance but sometimes I do just like my stories light and happy. This was read well by the narrator and made for a very pleasant reading experience.
I have never seen a review on this one but I’d definitely recommend picking it up if you like your fiction warm and fuzzy.
March 17, 2020
Two conservationists discover they need to tend to themselves before love can bloom with each other...
Albert and Florence are more alike than they imagine. They are both full of grief, lonely and have social anxieties. Both of them also have secret lives that allow something of their true selves to come to the surface. It takes the whole book for them to share their whole selves with the people who love them and it is a happy moment when they finally make the breakthrough. If you like sweet, gentle romance, then this is the book for you.
Albert and Florence are more alike than they imagine. They are both full of grief, lonely and have social anxieties. Both of them also have secret lives that allow something of their true selves to come to the surface. It takes the whole book for them to share their whole selves with the people who love them and it is a happy moment when they finally make the breakthrough. If you like sweet, gentle romance, then this is the book for you.
February 3, 2020
Not sure why I chose this to read - feel as though I read a review of it but cannot find it now.
Weak, unbelievable characters with almost zero plot line.
Weak, unbelievable characters with almost zero plot line.
February 9, 2020
DNF.. didn't grab me i didnt find it interesting or engaging.
July 28, 2020
This is a novel about the Saint Claire family, a family of singers and musicians; Lucas, the patriarch, charismatic, and with charm to burn; his wife, Amanda, jazz vocal chanteuse; and their 3 offspring, Florence, Isolde and Puck, all talented singers. Many years ago when Florence was a teenager, the family had an enormous success with a novelty song "Santa was a jazz cat". In the following years the song becomes a staple of the festive season, until one live performance when Florence freezes on stage, and thereafter refuses to be part of the group. Instead, she turns her attention to horticulture, joining The Green Team, where she works with Albert Flowers. Florence thinks that she and Albert could hit it off, however Florence is "prickly", Albert is always otherwise engaged, and besides, both she and Albert have too many secrets. This starts off as a fairly conventional novel until Whiting drops a surprise that tilts the perspectives of the Saint Claires, and considerably ramps up the interest level.
April 26, 2020
This was a really lovely book without the perfect ending but a good ending. I loved the quirky characters and the story was beautiful and detailed. It was such an Australian story with all the craziness that is real family and love and individuality and heartache and acceptance. I really enjoyed this story.
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July 8, 2021Full of gorgeous prose and unique characters. A beautiful book that pays homage to libraries, alter-egos, lost family and adults who can't quite shrug off that childhood feeling of being the odd one out. Whiting moved me to tears and had me wishing it was twice as long.
January 27, 2020
Another easy read. I liked walking on trampolines better but still enjoyable. Just a little bit vanilla
February 4, 2020
Beautifully written. Relatable in many ways.
April 25, 2020
I’ve never read a book with so much detail between the relationships of siblings, I enjoyed this very much.
September 17, 2022
An enjoyable and different read.
January 8, 2025
Such a delightful book!
March 6, 2020
Love love love this book. Full of quirky characters and delightful scenarios, I didn’t want to put it down. And I love finding the title of a book somewhere in the writing of the book. Looking forward to your next offering Frances.
June 19, 2020
This was such a joy to read. Loved the odd ball characters and their relationships with each other. The space they give each other to find themselves and the awkward but gorgeous love story.
January 30, 2020
This novel, set in Australia, is a pleasant read about families, quirky characters, acceptance and finding their way .
Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews