Jane is Trying

by Isy Suttie

She's been trying for a baby, with increasing desperation as her thirties sail by.

Now, she's trying to make a new start back home with her overprotective, charades-obsessed parents - having left her career and cheating fiancé behind in London.

And, she's trying to convince herself she didn't leave the front door unlocked, or the gas on. (Jane's not anxious. She just wants to make one hundred percent sure that nothing bad's going to happen to her. EVER.)

With an increasing load on her plate, friends and family who think if she only listens to them she'll have a perfect life, and a brain which questions every decision she's ever made, can Jane conquer her demons and step forward on her own?

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Mental Health, Novels, Humor, Comedy

291 pages, Hardcover

First published July 22, 2021

About the author

Isy Suttie is an award-winning comedian, writer, songsmith and actress. With a string of television acting credits to her name, including SHAMELESS, WHITES and SKINS, she is perhaps best known for playing Dobby in PEEP SHOW. She has been nominated twice for a British Comedy Award.

She also regularly performs her own shows to live audiences, on radio and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The second series of her Sony award-winning radio series ISY SUTTIE'S LOVE LETTERS was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2014, and in 2014 she made her musical theatre debut as the starring role in THE A-Z OF MRS P at the Southwark Playhouse.

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book.

Managed to be light-hearted and funny whilst also getting across complex emotional situations. I really felt Jane's experiences - having to move back home after the break up of her relationship and deal with her parents' - and everyone else's - small town mentality.

Jane is a strong character who puts up with less and less bullshit as the story progresses and was admirable and likeable as a protagonist. Some of the behaviour of others, especially her parents, was ridiculous to the point of hilarity at times. Other times it was downright irritating and so it was satisfying to see Jane refuse to engage with it.

Overall a really nice easy read. Would recommend, especially as a holiday book.

[Angela Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and found it really easy to read. It actually made me laugh out loud in parts, only when I saw the author picture I realised it was written by Dobby from Peepshow 😆

[Anna Sawlani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. Had some much deeper messaging and meaning, but still managed to be a light and funny read. I wasn’t sure going how much of the book would be fertility talk, but it wasn’t a huge amount of the story. I would still perhaps proceed with caution if you’re planning to read this and feeling overly sensitive to fertility chat.

[Cleo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Having been spoiled by the joyous radio series 'Isy Suttie's Love Letters', reading her writing without the addition of her wonderful narration meant that it took a little while for me to get into this book. But, the longer we spent in Foley, the longer my reading sessions became. I SO rooted for Jane, and I really appreciated the character development given to the characters that you'd least expect.

[Karen Radford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the debut novel by comedian and actor Isy Suttie.
“Jane is trying”-
to get pregnant
to forget her cheating fiancé
to conquer her overwhelming anxiety and OCD tendencies
to forge a new future without relying on her parents or fiancé

This is a funny and sweet story about trying to start afresh when your past haunts you, and the realities of being an independent adult. Returning to her home town from London means Jane is forced to adapt to her new circumstances and face her future head on.

There’s an abundance of quirky characters scattered throughout this story, a hint of romance and lots of funny moments - though Jane definitely has some bad luck and unpleasant memories of The Arch lurking in the background. Jane suffers from anxiety and intrusive thoughts that affect her constantly, and I felt the author dealt with this aspect in a particularly sensitive manner.

Whilst enjoying the storyline I didn’t really connect with Jane. To me she was just a bit too self absorbed and passive, relying on others rather than making assertive choices, though she did evolve towards the end. I loved some of the other characters who were well written and believable - especially Monica the hopelessly unprofessional therapist and Kelly a single mother who takes Jane under her wing.

Overall a good read, but not one that will linger in my memory.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for the e-arc in return for an honest review.

[Alex Prins · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5
For a book written by such a cheerful comedian, this book was a wrench at times. Very few characters have any redeeming features, and though Jane clearly means well, her neurotic behaviour make her a hard protagonist to root for. I found the ending a little unsatisfactory, but the general character writing and dialogue were very engaging. I finished this in 24 hours, but part of that was probably because I felt so uncomfortable at times that I just wanted to resolve the situation (for my own sake as much as Jane's)

[Niamh · Rating 2 out of 5]

probably more of a 2.5

▪️i'd probably say the first half is better than the second, deffos felt like it dragged on in the second half
▪️i like how easy it was to read but at times it came across as waffling
▪️there was too many people involved by the end for me and i just wasn't interested in the arch plot at all

[Ness · Rating 2 out of 5]

The protagonist of this novel is an ungrateful, neurotic, spoilt and self-centred middle class brat who improves very little throughout the story arc.
So the title is accurate; Jane is, indeed, trying. Very, very trying.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blurb read as though it would be an interesting feel-good story about a woman regaining control of her life after it had gone off the rails. Sadly it fell too much in to the category of generic ‘chick-lit’ for me to enjoy it. I probably should have read more reviews of the book before I purchased it. Clearly this book isn’t the sort of thing I would usually read and so some of the blame for me not enjoying it does lie with me.

To begin with some positives it is well written and it is an easy read, I read it in less than 2 days, It isn’t a bad read, I just expected the book to have a more empowering undertone and focus upon Jane overcoming OCD and rebuilding her life as that was the vibe I got from the blurb but she never really did rebuild her life, she just flitted from odd decision to odd decision.

The portrayal of OCD was reasonably good, there were many realistic descriptions of how it runs through your life but I felt it was something that could have been explored further within the book, there were also times when the portrayal bordered on unrealistic such as when it randomly seems to get forgotten about when it suits the storyline.

I thought that the big reveal of what happened in Room 3 would go some way to explaining Jane’s motivations and actions in her adult life but in the end it felt a bit of a let-down. I also felt the characters were written as stereotypes of either rich middle-class families (Sadie, Andrew, Jonathan etc) or low income working-class families (Kelly, Becca etc) and this made them lack realism.

Sorry it wasn’t for me, I didn’t enjoy it but there are plenty of people who did, it’s not a bad book, it’s just not what I thought it would be based upon the blurb. It was an easy-read and it is well-written.

[Millie Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this on a whim in the Waterstones sale because I was needing another £7 to get to my next loyalty card point, I loved the cover and the concept of the story pulled me in. I was pleasantly surprised by Jane is Trying, a light hearted and rather funny little book. I loved how Suttie broached such sensitive, and heavy topics with humour - and how well it worked.

Jane is Trying is about a woman in her late thirties, desperately trying to have a baby with her husband but struggling to conceive. As the story progresses (this isn’t a spoiler!!) she discovers her fiance cheating on her and moves back in with her parents in a small village, leaving her independence and life in London behind.

Jane’s struggles with conception, anxiety and undiagnosed OCD are immaculately written and Jane is Trying covers the ‘not knowing’ and ‘trying to figure it out’ aspect of life really well.

Some things didn’t really work for me and I felt very frustrated with Jane at times, she was extremely privileged but didn’t really seem to think so and took everything in her life for granted. But this was a really easy book that was very readable and it got a few laughs out of me.

I also really like the cover, overall a good book.

[dbt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I could have told Jane she can block individual numbers on her smart phone, saved her some call dodging and message screening.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I was really pleased to hear Isy Suttie was writing a novel, as I've loved her comedy for a long time and we come from the same county. I definitely recognised Matlock and elements of other Derbyshire towns in her depiction of Foley. I thought Jane Is Trying was a very good debut, dealing with issues of mental health and pregnancy at a later stage, as well as challenging the idea that you have to stick with the way your life is just because it's always been that way. As a librarian, I also loved the depiction of the bookshop and the highs and lows of author events! It's a great start, and I'll be interested to see if Suttie writes more.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Isy Suttie and in my head she read this book out to me. There were comedic elements with quite serious emotional issues. I found myself cheering Jane on, as she stumbled around Foley. Kelly was a great character, telling it like it is.

I hope Jane finally finishes the Sharon Osbourne book.

[Eilish · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was RIDICULOUS. How is Jane in her late thirties? Don’t even get me started on the others… Monica the therapist, the friendship with Kelly… The characters were so silly and unbelievable. I only made myself finish it because I bought a physical copy (because I liked the cover), but I couldn’t wait for it to end.

[Marnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending but the rest of the book was great, reading this as someone who has suffered from ocd it really makes you stop and breath for a second. a lot of the reviews at the beginning of the book say that it is funny but i don’t think it was which is okay!! just don’t go into this book hoping for a funny book because it wasn’t for me!

[Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick read but very anxiety inducing. I assume that's the point but still, it sort of taints the reading experience when the main character is so - well - trying.

[Marissa Bracker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I was pleasantly surprised to see it would portray a narrator with OCD like mine. I’m not sure how much I would’ve enjoyed this if I didn’t relate to it, as it was a bit kooky at times, but I was very happy to see the symptoms represented.

[Megan Baynes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started so well, loved the first half. But by the end the only thing Jane was trying was my patience.

[Eloise Post · Rating 3 out of 5]

Isy Suttie 3.5/5. ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
286 pages
Humour / Fiction

This is a story about Jane and her partner Jonathan & the struggles they face while trying for a baby. I really did enjoy the first part of this book, I laughed out loud and enjoyed finding out more about Jane. Towards the middle I found Jane annoying? Like it’s easy to block a number on a phone babes we’ve all done it. The book does touch over important topics such as mental health and IVF but in the end she just started to piss me off? sorry if I’ve missed the point I just couldn’t connect with Jane but I did love some of the other characters like Monica the unprofessional therapist who is slightly deluded. Overall it wasn’t a waste of time at all just something I wouldn’t pick up again. I bought this book because the reviews were amazing, comedians such as Aisling Bea and Sarah Pascoe loved it! Don’t be put off tho - check it out on goodreads or Waterstones xxxx

[Anna Gamble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not my usual read but I was intrigued by the blurb on this one. It spoke to me as I’m sure it will others— many of us know the reality of these types of ‘trying’. Trying for a baby is a huge one, but also trying to hold it together, trying to overcome trauma, trying to understand and manage our own minds.
I think Isy Suttie handles all this really well in her latest novel, Jane is Trying - a warm and funny observation of one woman’s attempt to start over.
I liked Jane, I began to really warm to her and empathise with her situation. Her anger and unwillingness to forgive her cheating husband or her suffocating relatives was very real, and I was rooting for her to be able to take that step away from her almost-forced dependency on others.
There is some intricate commentary at play around mental health and agency, and I liked how Jane’s growth directly explored this.
There are some truly chaotic and humorous family scenes and an overall warmth running through the book, with a large cast of quirky characters and a dose of community action to boot.
It’s a nice easy read that I’m sure will appeal to fans of the genre.

Thank you to Isy Suttie and Orion Publishing for an ARC ebook.

[Jodie Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane is Trying is just what I needed today. Funny (of course), with heavy subjects written in a light, somewhat anxious, tone Suttie’s debut hit all the right marks. Jane is a woman in her late thirties, stuck in her parents house in the Peak District after leaving her boyfriend behind in London. With fertility problems, OCD that she refuses to acknowledge, a smidge of trauma and a cheating boyfriend, Jane has found herself in a life she doesn’t understand.

Suttie writes Jane so well. I was immediately drawn to the character, who wanted to be looked after, but not too looked after. Who wanted to be independent, but not too independent. I even felt myself get a tiny bit emotional near the end, and considering I’m a reading robot, that’s a surprise for me.

There’s a lot that can be said for reading ‘celebrity authors’, some of it valid for certain attempts. For me, Jane is Trying is a great debut that holds its own, even without the name attached. It reminded me a little of Jessie Cave’s Sunset, an entirely different book also written by a comedian, which I loved as well. There’s a very vulnerable humour in this, which I think is bolstered by the author being a public figure, and the book is all the better for it.

[Donna Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light and engaging tale, with a likeable and relatable less-than-perfect female protagonist with obsessive compulsive tendencies. The plot is an uncomplicated tale of how she runs home to mum and dad, away from a cheating partner in London, who wants her back. Smothered by small-town life, Jane realises she may have been running away from that the whole time anyway.

Some continuity issues aside, this was a story that kept me interested, wanting to know what happened next, and there were some interesting supporting characters along the way. You could easily see this being made into a sitcom/drama.

[Liberty Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love isy suttie, so was excited to read this. I was worried about the low reviews it had but I tried to push them to the back of my mind.
I struggled to get my teeth into the book at first; it was quite scatty with Isy’s quirky style of writing and an obstacle to begin with.
The story progressed and I eventually settled in - I think this book would make a good play or film. A lot was crammed in to a relatively short novel , and I ended up speeding through it during the last 5 chapters. I think the average star rating is fair and not a bad effort for a first novel.

[Emma Elgerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely gripping, I couldn't put it down. Having suffered with anxiety and a relationship breakdown, Jane's story was very real for me. She made different choices but I had those decisions put in front of me.
I was a little disappointed with the end and hope that it leaves the door open for a sequel.

[Rachel Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and light-hearted read, that also deals with issues like mental health. I loved the bookshop and, as you might expect from Isy Suttie, there was a lovely humour to the book too.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sarah Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pleasant and easy to read.

[Eva Durham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Loved Jane because of her worries rather than despite them. She was so strong and didn’t know it. The story wasn’t dismissive of any of her fears and there some properly laugh out lines.

[Lottie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very easy and lighthearted read - I definitely chuckled out loud at a few parts!

[Becky Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and easy reading!

[John Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in chunks over the course of 4 weeks. Normally I'd say that's a sign that I'm not enjoying it, but in this case it's mainly because I've been busy with other things. I didn't have any trouble picking up where I'd left off, and since the events of the story are spread over several months I think it might actually have helped that I read it over a prolonged period.

I bought this book a year ago, so I'd forgotten the cover blurb by the time I started reading. I think that helped, because I didn't have any pre-conceptions going in. I mainly bought it because the author appeared in the "Knightmare" special in 2013; I haven't seen her in anything else. I can now say that this book works on its own merits, i.e. it's not just an actor relying on their fame to sell copies.

I think the main triumph of this book is that it made me feel sympathetic towards characters who I don't have anything in common with. The story is narrated by Jane (1st person past tense), and it starts out with her working in a bookshop but acknowledging that she doesn't like reading, and that she's only partway through a celebrity biography. By its nature, the target audience for this book will be people who do like reading, so it feels like the main character is starting at a disadvantage, but the book pulls it off. Likewise, I think it's safe to assume that the author enjoys reading, so that emphasises that this isn't a self-insertion fanfic story.

There's a similar thing later with Kelly and Becca. At first glance, they fit the stereotype of chavs, but they offer genuinely useful advice about their experience of motherhood and the practicalities of child support.

Looking at the title, I think it works on three levels:
* Before the book starts, Jane and her partner have been trying for a baby.
* During the book, she's making an effort to deal with the problems that she faces. I.e. she's doing her best, even if she's making a mess of it.
* Her personality quirks can be frustrating to the people around her, i.e. "she's very trying" (adjective rather than verb).

Regarding her quirks, chapter 2 has an offhand comment:
"If I could just get in and upstairs without Mum and Dad asking me yet again if I was all right, then do all my checking without anyone interrupting, I had a chance of sleeping more than a few hours."
Her "checking" isn't described in detail, but a few pages later she says:
"I'd do my rounds once they'd all gone: check the gas hob and the doors and the window locks."

That didn't strike me as unusual, but chapter 8 says:
"I'd been twenty minutes late due to repeatedly checking that my hairdryer was off and unplugged, something I was only able to resolve by taking a photo of it off and unplugged, which I now had to look at every five minutes to still my swirling insides."
This makes it a bit more obvious that her "checks" are a form of obsessive/compulsive behaviour. She repeatedly states that it's not OCD, possibly just because she's in denial. Either way, I think it's a good insight into why OCD is a genuine problem for people who have it, rather than just meaning "I like to have my books in alphabetical order".

From an editing point of view, I only spotted one mistake. In chapter 7, there's a line about chopsticks: "the free splintery ones you get free with a Chinese takeaway" (i.e. the word "free" is repeated). Aside from that, there weren't any spelling mistakes, which is a pleasant surprise for an ebook.

There are also two sentences with the same structure:
* Chapter 5 has "made The Handmaid's Tale look like 9½ Weeks"
* Chapter 7 has "made We Need to Talk about Kevin look like The Waltons"
That stood out to me, and I was worried about overuse, but it didn't get used again for the rest of the book so I think that's ok.

I think this book also does a nice job of avoiding genre conventions (or at least for the genres that I'm familiar with). E.g. there are lots of romantic comedies where a woman leaves her big city career to marry a guy from a small town with a low paid job. In this case, that would involve Jane leaving Jonathan and marrying Robbie. However, the story doesn't go that way.

There are other stories where two women leave their male partners and share a bed every night, leading to a bisexual awakening. However, that doesn't happen either; Jane enjoys cuddling up with Kelly, but there's no romantic or sexual aspect to it (certainly not from Kelly's side) and they stay as friends after Jane moves out.

So, I think this is a mature look at a "situationship", where two people are going to be part of each other's lives but won't necessarily be a couple. I haven't seen that in fiction before, so I'm glad to see it here.

I think that the mystery of room 3 was also handled well, and it's not what I'd expected.

When I finished the final page, I came away feeling satisfied.