The Sparkle Pages

by Meg Bignell

Bridget Jones meets Eleanor Oliphant in the ‘up-lit’ debut of the year.‘Is marriage just a series of texts about where the children are and whether we need milk until one of you dies?’Susannah Parks – wife, mother, cleaner of surfaces and runner of household – is a viola virtuoso. Except she hasn’t picked up a viola for over a decade. She has, however, picked up a lot of Lego, socks, wet towels and other exhibits of mundanity. She has also picked up on the possibility that her husband has lost interest in her. (And frankly, she’s not very interested in Susannah Parks either.) But this year, she has resolved to be very interesting. Also thoughtful, useful, cheerful, relevant, self-sufficient, stylish, alluring and intelligent.In her highly confidential diary, Susannah documents the search for the elusive spark in her marriage, along with all the high and low notes of life with her four beloved children, with her free-spirited (and world famous) best friend Ria, and with Hugh, the man who fills her heart with burning passion and her washing pile with shirts.And perhaps amid the chaos she might be brave enough to find the missing pieces of CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE, SEX SCENES AND FANTASIES ABOUT HUSBANDS UNPACKING THE DISHWASHER.'One of the most highly anticipated Australian debuts of the year….there are funny, laugh-out-loud bits everywhere … entertaining, emotional, full of lunatic charm’ BETTER READING

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Humor, Romance, Family

362 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2019

Reviews

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 4 out of 5]

EXCERPT: Saturday 31st December
I have been hiding in the wardrobe for eleven and a half minutes. I've done ten and a half minutes of deep breathing and a bit of meditation, and I still don't trust myself to come out. I am sitting on Hugh's shoes, amid his hanging trousers. It might appear a bit childish, this hiding in the wardrobe, but actually I'm very sensibly not losing my temper. Trying at least; I can still feel some shouts threatening to burst out and screech all over the house. I must clutch onto them and stay here a bit longer. If I lose my temper, I might not find it again in time for the New Year's Eve guest arrivals. . .

Right, those deep breaths made me quite dizzy and my mind's not made for meditation, so I've decided instead to turn my potential maelstrom into quietly written words that mar only this paper and not the impressionable, developing brains of my four darling children. Oh, I could say some things. Things that would end this year on a very bad note.

Here's what the little knobheads (dear little blossoms) have done today:
- Offered to make New Year's Eve cupcakes, but instead decorated the kitchen with icing sugar, egg, milk and sprinkles.
- Let the (morbidly obese) dog clean up the sprinkles.
- Eaten most of the icing and all the little silver balls (Jimmy, I suspect).
- Spilt purple food colouring on the couch and lied about it (Mary-Lou - she has purple tones in her hair, which is not ideal for long dark ringlets. She looks like a modern-day witches familiar.)
- Burnt the cupcakes (Rafferty)
- Licked all the windows in the front hall (Jimmy and Mary-Lou)
- Turned the spare bed into a lifeboat and filled it with every pillow, cushion, dolly and stuffed animal in the house (all of them).
- Ignored me altogether (Eloise).
- Brought home a baby possum (Jimmy).
- Owned up to nothing, told lies, blamed one another and said bugger (twice).

ABOUT THIS BOOK: 'Is marriage just a series of texts about where the children are and whether we need milk until one of you dies?'

Susannah Parks - wife, mother, cleaner of surfaces and runner of household - is a viola virtuoso. Except she hasn't picked up a viola for over a decade. She has, however, picked up a lot of Lego, socks, wet towels and other exhibits of mundanity. She has also picked up on the possibility that her husband has lost interest in her. (And frankly, she's not very interested in Susannah Parks either.) But this year, she has resolved to be very interesting. Also thoughtful, useful, cheerful, relevant, self-sufficient, stylish, alluring and intelligent.

In her highly confidential diary, Susannah documents the search for the elusive spark in her marriage, along with all the high and low notes of life with her four beloved children, with her free-spirited (and world famous) best friend Ria, and with Hugh, the man who fills her heart with burning passion and her washing pile with shirts.

And perhaps amid the chaos she might be brave enough to find the missing pieces of herself.

WARNING: CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE, SEX SCENES AND FANTASIES ABOUT HUSBANDS UNPACKING THE DISHWASHER.

MY THOUGHTS: Loved it. It is touching, sad and funny. Hilarious in parts. Laugh out loud and choke on your coffee hilarious.

The author is obviously a mother. And a wife.

Susannah could be any one of us. There are bits of her in all of us.

I loved all the characters. Susannah - who has given away a part of herself; her four irrepressible children; Hugh - her husband; Ria - her best friend; Vera - her elderly neighbour, and Hannah - Hugh's ex-girlfriend and recently returned to the neighbourhood.

A refreshing look at motherhood, friendship and marriage.

I loved the Australian accent of the narrator (who is, btw, the author). It made me feel quite homesick.

Highly recommended.

****

No one ever asks for the stories of the wizened and the wise.

THE AUTHOR: Meg Bignell was a nurse and a weather presenter on the telly before she surrendered to a persistent desire to write. Since then she has been writing almost every day - bits and pieces here and there, either to earn a crust, to get something off her chest or to entertain herself.

DISCLOSURE: I listened to the audiobook of The Sparkle Pages by Meg Bignell, narrated by the author herself, and published by Penguin Random House Australia Audio via Overdrive. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This and other reviews are also published on Twitter, Instagram and my webpage.

[Theresa Smith]

#DNF
I wanted so much to like this novel. It’s so beautifully sparkly with its gold page edges and gold foil cover design, but you really should never judge a book by its cover – that old saying is so true! I persevered with this one until around the 80 page mark, but with an ever growing review pile, I’ve begun to be a bit more savage and have decided that if a book isn’t grabbing me a few chapters in, I’m going to pass on it. I skipped ahead from page 80 to the last two chapters, and it seemed like a very nice story, but that alone wasn’t enough to keep me going. I’ve seen some favourable reviews for this novel, from bloggers I follow as well as on Goodreads, so I think it’s worth explaining why this book just didn’t work for me.

‘Hugh sighed and said, “Don’t overthink it, Susannah. Don’t dream up problems. We’re fine.”’

This quote, from page 43, pretty much sums up my feelings on this story. The whole thing seemed set to be about Susannah overthinking things, hiding in her closet to write about them, rinse, repeat. Diary narratives are not a favourite of mine, and this one is entirely a diary, there’s no break from it, so no break from Susannah. I’m also not a fan of parenting novels: the type where much of the story is made up of the daily grind of parenting depicted with overblown comic conjecture. I’m currently living that daily grind, minus the comedy; I don’t want to read about it. I read to escape, to walk in different shoes, not to be reminded of my everyday life. Sometimes, a book can be particularly funny, or endearing enough to cut through this for me – a recent example: How to Be Second Best by Jessica Dettman, but this is rare. I just don’t like reading about parents and their kid issues. They pale in comparison to real life and after a while, the spills, sassy back-chat, and endless rounds of mayhem cease to be funny. I’m also having an on again off again relationship with contemporary fiction at present. So there’s a few reasons why this one didn’t work for me, and it’s pretty much a clear cut case of ‘it’s not you, it’s me’.

I have no doubt that fans of contemporary fiction, especially chick-lit, will find much to enjoy in this novel.

Thanks is extended to Penguin Random House Australia for providing me with a copy of The Sparkle Pages for review.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

After reading Bignell's wonderful The Angry Women's Choir, I was keen to read more by her. I found this audiobook, so I jumped right in.

Told via journal entries, this is the story of Susannah, a Tasmanian housewife, mother of four, and a former viola player, who tries to reignite passion in her marriage, as the domesticity and the busyness of raising children and keeping a home has diminished the sparkle of her relationship with her husband - a typical scenario, part of the course. So the neurotic and insecure Susannah adds something else to her chore list - reigniting the passion in her marriage.

There were some funny moments, relationship truths and also some sad moments, emphasising the highs and lows of relationships, motherhood, and life.

This is the second novel by Bignell that left my heart full. Not only is Meg Bignell a talented writer, she's also a fabulous narrator. I like her voice and delivery so much, I can't bring myself to read her books in print. I hope she continues to narrate her own novels. She could easily try narrating other novels - that is before AI takes over everything.

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susannah Parks is convinced her marriage of fifteen years has lost it’s spark and, from the comfort of her wardrobe, begins to formulate a New Years Resolution. She will be interested, and be interesting, she will be stylish and have great hair, she will be relevant and useful, and she will have passionate sex with her husband.

“We certainly had passion once. Sometimes I catch a fleeting flash of it again, but for the most part, passion just seems to have fallen by the wayside....(There are lot of good things by the wayside, if only I could find where it is - somewhere near the too-hard basket, probably.)”

It’s been a while since a book has both made laugh out loud, and moved me to tears.

As a wife ond mother of four myself, I perhaps related better to Susannah than it is wise to admit. From the barely controlled chaos of Susannah’s days, to the tedium of cleaning, cooking and caretaking for a young family, to the dwindling priority of intimacy (ok..yes, sex) in a marriage. Unlike her though, I have always understood that marriage, and family life, has its ups and downs as it is a constantly changing dynamic.

This too is what Susannah eventually comes to realise, with the help of her best friend, the indomitable Ria, her family, her friends and her neighbour, Valda. It is Susannah who has lost her spark, buried under piles of wet towels, baskets of insecurity, and a load of guilt so heavy, it has all but been extinguished.

Though there is plenty of humour, and moments of sheer absurdity, to be found in this novel, the story also reveals a shocking truth and heartbreaking tragedy. The author’s writing shines as she deftly steers the reader through sadness and joy.

The Sparkle Pages is witty, wise, honest and moving, a glittering debut from Australian author, Karen Bignell, it’s my favourite read so far this year.

“Sparks. Passion and sparks. And when there are no sparks, at least just a little sparkle.”

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set not just in my home state of Tasmania but also in the city I live in, I heard good things about Meg Bignell's debut novel The Sparkle Pages, and while the title did put me off I'm glad I didn't let that stop me from reading it. The narrator, Susannah Parks, is a mother to four young children, living in West Hobart and determined to recapture the passion in her marriage to handsome engineer Hugh. The novel is her diary for the year, beginning with her New Year's resolution to get back the 'spark', because her marriage - and her day-to-day, has been overtaken with endless chores and some helicopter parenting. She long ago gave up her promising career as a classical viola player (violist) and, due to some unexplained past event, refuses to play it even for her family. In fact, she can barely look at her viola, let alone touch it. But while Susannah refuses to revisit that part of her life, even suffering a bit of post-traumatic stress triggered by suggestions she play it, it becomes clear that the viola is at the heart of her problems, and that she can't force the 'spark' back into her marriage. She must find the passion in herself, instead.

I'll keep this short as I finished it a few weeks ago and haven't had a chance to write about it till now, and I'm afraid I've forgotten some of the things I wanted to include. What I most wanted to say is how impressive this book is. It might not seem it to the average reader, but this would be a hard novel to write. To sustain Susannah's voice, in the form of diary entries, over the course of a whole year and 400 pages?! That's impressive, you really do need to give her that, because she's successful, too. Susannah's voice has a touch of the classic British 'chicklit', Sophie-Kinsella-heroine to it, but there's also something very real and earthy about her that those Kinsella-esque characters, as fun as they can be, sorely lack. Beneath the humour and the antics and Susannah's somewhat manic tone lies a realistic portrait of upper-middle-class family life and the impossible choice mothers often have to make between - not just having a career but having anything in their lives that's just for them, and their children.

I did have to give the book a rest about halfway through. Because it's laid out as diary entries that cover a whole year, it can be harder to read - harder to maintain enthusiasm, that is. It's very well written, very believable, but sometimes a little slow and the 'clues' to understanding don't always come when you need them to. Looking at her life through her eyes with a very limited first-person perspective, it was hard to like Hugh at all until the end, and also hard to get a clear view of her children sometimes. Bottom line is: a novel, especially one this long, written entirely in journal form can be a bit of a slog. It is absolutely worth persevering with The Sparkle Pages, though. The revelation of what had happened to make Susannah stop playing viola was hard to read, as a parent, but so gut-wrenching and honest and original. The book made me cry, not just for that part but also for the Ria storyline (Ria, short for Gloria, is Susannah's best friend). And I do love a book that makes me cry, as odd as that sounds.

So do give this beautifully honest, richly detailed novel that's humming with life and humour and the bittersweet, a go, it's well worth your time.

[Nomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I really ended up loving this and loving all the characters.

I liked the humour and writing from the start but I hit a bit of a lull midway through (there isn't a single strong narrative driving the story - there is some backstory mystery, but a lot of the story is day-to-day happenings, diary style). However, things really picked up towards the end and I couldn't put it down ~ and was surprised to find I had somehow become so emotionally invested that I cried actual tears in a few scenes.

I also loved all the flashbacks to Susannah and Hugh during uni = swoon, haha. Greet meet-cute and awesome proposal scene. Lots of really fun moments throughout, and when the mystery of why Susannah stopped playing was revealed, I gasped. Truly horrible scenario, and one I don't think I've read about in fiction before (in the way it happened).

A favourite read of 2019 for me and a new fave Aussie author.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should disclose that my main motivation in reading this book was a sense of sororial loyalty - the author was a year or two below me at school, and her mother taught me at University.
At first, I found it a bit flaky - a sort of cross between Adrian Mole and Carrie Bradshaw for the antipodes - but as the issues facing the protagonist became meatier than wanting to one-up the glossy neighbours or do something with her wispy hair, I became more engaged. Ultimately, I felt that the book touched on many important topics for 40-something educated women - the feeling of having failed to live up to early potential, the continuing prevalence of traditional gender-role expectations that exist in many relationships (no matter how feminist we say we are!) and the insanely life-consuming effect of domestic minutiae. Bignell paints an amusing and insightful picture of domestic and married life. There were many laugh-out-loud moments but also themes of personal loss and trauma.
Not a demanding read, but enjoyable.

[Fleeno · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't my usual kind of book but it was on sale on Audible, it is an Australian author and I had recently read an article condeming the snobbery whereby mens writing about family and relationships is considered literature and women writing about the same topics are considered chic lit or womens fiction (as opposed to ordinary fiction *eye roll*), so I thought why not. And for the most part I'm glad I did.

Susannah Parks is a mother for four, she used to play the viola until a trauma occurred and the thought of playing causes anxiety. She has decided that the spark has gone from her marriage so she starts a diary to document her 'sparkle project', a bid to add sparkle to her life and relationship. The book covers the year as she attempts to seduce her husband and keep her children alive and happy.

For most of the book I straight up hated Hugh, he just seemed so selfish and oblivious to his wife as a human instead of just the mother to his children. Hugh and Susannah fell in love in university and had big dreams, though it seems Susannah's dreams were pushed aside while Hugh was able to fulfill all his dreams. Why is it having four children seems to have put a screeching holt to all the things Susannah wanted in life while Hugh still manages to have an amazing career and travel (don't worry, I know why). The crux of the issues in their relationship seem to stem from Susannah never feeling good enough and always being scared of losing Hugh. If Hugh feels the same it is never shown and through a retelling of their beginnings of their relationship it seems clear that things have always gone his way. Every time Susannah (or any other character) suggested she was being selfish for concentrating on herself rather than her husband and children I wanted to scream! Mothers should put themselves first, the family would crumble and fall without them! There are so many things left unsaid and whilst sometimes its best not to scream at people I think it was more than reasonable for Susannah to feel bitter that Hugh left her with three children and pregnant to go to Antarctica. It feels like an issue they should have discussed at length instead of her pretending she was fine and him ignoring her bitterness.

The book deals with topics which are familiar to women - the pressure to be a good wife, a good mother, do everything right, the guilt because the kids have store bought snacks instead of homemade organic food, putting everyone else first and the crushing disappointment when no one comments or cares. It also deals with heart ache and loss and at one point had me unexpectedly crying on the train during a moment which was a little too familiar. I think that a lot of women would find the issues raised familiar even those who arent parents or who aren't SAHM. The book loses a star because *spoiler* Susannah doesn't stab Hugh with her viola bow when he leaves his cup on top of the dishwasher instead of putting it in the dishwasher.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pootled along for ages being fun and silly and awkward, and a tiny bit annoying, then all of a sudden BOOM hit me with unexpected drama and big emotions. Spent the last third of the book weeping on and off, but in a good way. Was quite cathartic.

Mild spoilers below.

I liked Susannah and her relationship with Hugh. I was thrilled to read about a complicated long-term marriage, with children, where they actually stayed together and worked out their problems instead of just finding new & more interesting partners. Surprisingly enough this is VANISHINGLY RARE in women's fiction! I kept expecting to find out that Hugh had been having an affair the whole time or was planning to go and live in Antarctica forever, waiting for him to do a villainous moustachio twirl and exit the scene so our heroine can find new love, as husbands usually do in this kind of book. But I was very glad when he didn't.

I loved all the stuff about music, especially because it was VIOLA (my instrument)! My only complaint was pacing, I felt like some of the middle section dragged on too long and some of the last section was a bit rushed. Would have preferred to spend less time on her deluded attempts to patch over the holes in her marriage with makeovers and expensive trips, and more time on the part where she stopped being so mysterious about What Went Wrong and started actually dealing with it.

[Dee-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Loved it. Laughed, cringed, cried and cheered. I wonder what the next year of the diray would hold. Thank you to the author for the sparkle.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny which is hard to do in writing. I found myself laughing out loud a lot!
Also, not so "sparkly" and covered some very serious emotional issues which I also loved!

[Claudine Tinellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susannah Parks has lost the spark in her marriage and has decided to embark on a project to help her find it again. She calls it the "Sparkle Project". What follows is a detailed, often hilarious, account of her OTT efforts to put the zing back in to her love life with bemused husband Hugh. Richly layered with a cast of loveable characters, this book spoke volumes to me about the underbelly of life as modern women and the painful choices women sometimes make for the sake of their family's well-being in a unique and honest way. I found myself cheering Susannah along and leapt with joy at the very satisfying conclusion to this uplifting novel. Well done, Meg! Five stars from me.

[Trudy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did want to love this book, but I must say that I found Suzannah to be a bit tedious and the story a tad mundane. I am usually a huge fan of books written in diary format because it is great when life is busy to read just a snippet at a time, but this diary was like someone else had written my diary of everyday with kids and a husband that I always love but don't always find time to enjoy... Both Suzannah and Hugh seemed to genuinely love each other but Suzannah reading too much into everything drove me away from this book.

[Sigrid Eckhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character, Suzanna, comes across as very self-indulgent, rather annoying and at times unrealistic. Throughout the book, there are snippets of the trauma that stopped her playing. This would have actually been a great story but in reality it was a letdown. You read a whole year of diary entries that add so little to the story and the story is neatly tied up with a bow in a matter of pages.

It is an easy read but definitely not as enjoyable as I had hoped.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. I found it a bit boring at times and had to steal myself to read it as the narrator/main character was a bit self-indulgent. However I can imagine some readers might really enjoy being privy to her thoughts and odd logic and appreciate its honesty. It is replete with the everyday and the mundane, which isn’t bad. I just didn’t engage with the main character for much of the book.

The story did redeem itself towards the end as the narrator was told a few home truths and developed some true understanding and insight into her conduct and her thinking about many things. So I started to quite enjoy the story just as it was about to end.

If you like domestic fiction about the everyday, then you’ll probably enjoy it.

[Tammy Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. A light hearted read with some really great characters and funny lines that made me me giggle. I love Tasmania and this was set there so I enjoyed the references. If you’re looking for something lighter after a few heavy reads, I recommend this.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Enjoyed reading and was a unique story.

[Serena Ford · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably shouldn’t be rating this book as I didn’t finish it. Really silly and totally overdone the trying to be funny style of writing.

[Koa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted more of Meg Bignell after reading The Angry Women’s Choir. The Sparkle Pages did not disappoint. Laugh out loud funny, and crushingly sad this wholly relateable tale explores marriage motherhood and enduring friendship, and dreams lost and found.
Loved it

[Kate (KitKat07210) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5⭐️

[Jocelyn (foxonbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a 2 star read for me until the very end and that pushed it back up to... Fine

[Jessica (bibliobliss.au) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun story, told through diary entries and packed with humour, heart and a bit of neuroses! I found this lovely Aussie novel (a Tassie read, too!) about married life & motherhood completely relatable and Susannah, our protagonist, is a complete goofball so it was impossible not to fall in love with her.

I half read, half listened to this and I do recommend the audiobook as it quickly got me right into Susannah’s sweet, over-thinking head.

[Ira T · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
It started out about a quirky zany mum that has given up a lot in life and has an inattentive husband. Standard plot for a lot of 'chick lit' books. This book, however has heart. And soul. It pulls you in. You end up caring about every single character. You laugh out loud. You get outraged. You get teary. It would have scored higher if the husband storyline resolved itself better. Maybe I am not at the stage of life to really connect with the protagonist's life choices and situation. I found the resolution a bit unsatisfactory. However, it is a fun and easy read that still makes you think about your life, your choices and the people you love.

[Athene Alleck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is overflowing with love, heart and soul as well as being spit-the-tea/wine funny in parts. You can’t help but feel like you really know the characters by the end of this mammoth 1 year story & Tassie gets a great show-in too.! Lots of moments to relate to especially if you’re a 40-something Aussie mum ...
If anything there is a bit too much going on ... it’s overwhelming but I guess that is life. Family, friends, nature, music, memories, life, death, connections ... there’s a lot to love in the Sparkle Pages - if anything the title doesn’t do it justice.

[Kerenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this. The author came to our book club and she exuded sparkle which made me excited to read the book. Unfortunately it didn’t hit the mark with me, maybe because of my current life stage didn’t math Susannah’s. The twist in the middle knocked me for a six and brought many a tear to my eye (and bumped this review to a 4!)

Would still recommend the read; I just found it laborious.

[David Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A woman writes a diary for a year as she tries to put some passion back into her marriage. In a nutshell this book explores the minutiae of being a wife and mother of four children. It sounds pretty boring, but it is really very funny, thought provoking, often sexually explicit, occasionally sad and at times hilarious.

[Just_Jes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read. I found the middle 2/3rds a bit monotonous and just wanted it to get on with it, then it smacked me in the face... (Don't be reading this in public at this point). I adore Ria, she won my heart.
A great read, definitely worth picking up. I read it whilst I was down with the flu and got through it in a couple of days.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It started off as a ‘married with 4 kids Bridget Jones diary’ which was enjoyable enough, but then transitioned into something much more profound and moving. Had me in tears on more than one occasion. Perfect holiday reading 😊

[Eva Lehmann-Bauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

#DNF While I initially it was amusing and funny (considering I sat on the bookstore floor and read 40 pages) I just couldn’t finish it. But the storyline was there, just feel it could have been a lot more to keep me interested..

[Ging]

Smutty. No real schtumth to the storyline. Uninteresting. Vacuous. Shallow. A let down after reading "Welcome to Nowhere River". Very thankful I didn't waste my hard earned $ on this piece of rubbish!
Do I really want to risk reading "Angry Women's Choir "?