One Day I Shall Astonish the World

by Nina Stibbe

From the prize-winning author of Reasons to be Cheerful comes a story about the ebb and flow of female friendship over half a lifetime'A true gift of a novel, I utterly adored it. For as long as I could make it last, the world just felt a bit nicer.' Meg Mason'Wonderful . . . Her best yet' Kathy Burke'I loved it so SO much! Funnier than ever but with a new depth and maturity' Marian Keyes_______________________________________Susan and Norma have been best friends for years, at first thrust together by force of circumstance (a job at The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery shop in 1990s Leicestershire) and then by force of character (neither being particularly inclined to make friends with anyone else). But now, thirty years later, faced with a husband seeking immortality and Norma out of reach on a wave of professional glory, Susan begins to wonder whether she has made the right choices about life, love, work, and, most importantly, friendship.Nina Stibbe's new novel is the story of the wonderful and sometimes surprising path of from its conspiratorial beginnings, along its irritating wrong turns, to its final gratifying destination._________________________________________________'A lovingly observed testament to the complexities and profundities of female friendship' Elizabeth Day'Nina Stibbe is not just very funny but absolutely life-affirming' Jenny Colgan'Stibbe writes some of the best-turned comic sentences in contemporary writing. Like Susan, she makes it look easier than it must be' Sunday Times'Nina Stibbe is one of our funniest novelists - it's time to take her seriously' Daily Telegraph'Stibbe is one of the all-time greats' Daisy Buchanan'Clever and funny, it takes a sharp look at the intricacies of marriage, friendship, work and driving. As with all Stibbe's writing there is a pleasingly perfect balance of wisdom with jokes' Cathy Rentzenbrink'For beautifully funny and well-observed comic writing, Nina Stibbe is your go-to author. In her latest release, a tale of lifelong friendship between Susan and Norma, she explores the mistakes, rivalries and love we all experience in life' Stylist'One of the great comic writers of our time' Irish Times

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary, British Literature, Humor, Family, Womens Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2022

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nina Stibbe's darkly humorous novel of friendship, and marriage through the decades is set in Leicestershire, and is densely written, capturing the everyday details and ordinariness of life from the 1990s right upto to Covid in the present. It begins with a prologue in which Susan, a PA to the Vice-Chancellor of Rutland University is putting together a newsletter, not easy given the paucity of news. Her husband, Roy, is intent on living forever, the only veg he will eat are baked beans and iceberg lettuce, and he is putting his fingers in his ears when Susan speaks, all of which speaks volumes of the state of her 28 year marriage, and her daughter, Honey, who has come back to live at home, wants her mother to meet with her counsellor. Susan reflects on how she got here, particularly focusing on the highs, lows and pain of her life defining friendship with Norma-Jean Pallou.

Coincidentally, she met Roy at the Two Swans Cafe, he works at the golf club, and Norma on the same day in the 1990s, Norma posing as the manager of The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery store that Susan, a Literature undergraduate, is working at for the summer. Norma has a science background, and is now seeking entry to a more literary university course, and Susan helps her prepare for this. We follow Susan becoming unexpectedly pregnant 7 months into her relationship with Roy, leading to her becoming married and dropping out of university, despite Norma's warnings. Unsurprisingly her relationship with Roy changes dramatically after giving birth, and we observe the various life events through the years, such as the out of blue surprising marriage of Norma to Hugo Pack-Allen, becoming parents, and raising children. Then there is a return to the present to see if Susan manages to make herself become more seen as a person than she has been so far.

Stibbe's novel will no doubt be loved by many, there will be readers who will love the opportunity to immerse themselves in 1990s nostalgia and the culture of the period. The character of Susan, her relationships and her life will resonate for some, and I can dispassionately see that much of the narrative is humorous. However, I failed to connect with any of the characters, and the humour does not work for me, it simply didn't appeal, which made this entertaining read that much more of a laboured experience. Do not let this review put you off reading this, please read other far more positive reviews before deciding whether to read this. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

[Britt]

DNF @ 23%

The narrative is bogged down with details and isn't going anywhere fast. Stibbe's sense of humour has its moments ( "My husband Roy and I have been at odds, starting when I accidentally called out the VC's name during an unusually playful moment. All I can think is that I somehow got the names 'Roy' and 'Professor Willoughby' muddled." ) but was a lot more miss than hit. After asking myself if this was going anywhere for the third time, I knew it was time to give up.

[Breige · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Day I Shall Astonish the World has Nina Stibbe's trademark writing style all over it: female main character living in the Midlands, full of sharp and witty observations about her ordinary life. The preface of the book starts in November 2019, setting the scene of Susan trying to write the newsletter for her university job, a strained relationship with her husband Roy and her daughter's counsellor wanting to talk to her. The book goes back to 1990, when Susan meets Roy for the first time when she arrives at work to find the door locked and she goes to the cafe instead. When work reopens, she also meets Norma, the haberdashery's owner's daughter, for the first time. The story works it way up to the preface and past it into 2020, charting Susan's relationships with Norma and Roy over the years.

If you like books with big plots and action, this will not be one for you! It spans 30 years and Susan leads a very quiet life. What this mainly focuses on is observations on life and the relationships between the characters, particularly Susan and Norma. They go from very close friends to hardly talking on a personal level, there's some undercurrents of frenemies at times. Norma is almost like a mirror to what Susan's life could have been if marriage and children hadn't haltered her education and career. At times I felt so sorry for Susan, aching for recognition but at times she is very frustrating, especially when she doesn't stand up for herself with Norma.

The pacing was a bit off towards the end, it didn't match the rest of the book, it seemed rushed. I found my interesting waning at times, if the book was slightly shorter I think it would have packed a bigger punch. Overall I did enjoy it, the humour is so uniquely Nina Stibbe and it made me laugh several times. But not as much as some of her other books

[Laura McNeal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norma is a terrible friend. And yet Susan cannot stop missing her, competing with her, confiding in her, or forgiving her. That was the most compelling thing about the book for me—the comic treatment of a friendship that starts before marriage and careers and persists almost beyond belief, and yet that also felt true, psychologically—you are never free of those early ties and must grapple with them in some fashion forever.

[Maine Colonial · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of humor in this book if you are into that wry, understated British style. For me, it definitely had its entertaining quirky moments, but they fought with the frustration I felt over Susan allowing Norma (and others) walk all over her for decades.

Norma comes across as a quintessential user, and someone who can’t stand to have her supposed friend, Susan, achieve anything of her own. But Susan ever-so-slowly finds her strength and moves out of Norma’s shadow, with Norma subtly acknowledging Susan’s claim to independence.

I’ve been tempted to read Nina Stibbe before, but this turned out to be my first. I liked it, but its extremely low-key style and pace made me wish I’d tried one of her earlier books first.

[Heather Adores Books]

Audiobook review

The story begins in 1990 and ends in 2020 and follows the 30 year friendship of Susan and Norma.

Although the writing was good, this one wasn't really for me. I chose to stick with it because Joanna Scanlan did a great job narrating and I follow through on my commitments.

I think this will appeal more for those that enjoy reading stories about years long, unlikely friendships. There is covid talk, as well, and I don't care for that since we're still living it.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Audio and the author for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

More reviews here ➡ Heather Adores Books

[ace :] · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way that Nina Stibbe wrote this book was wonderful. I greatly enjoyed the actual writing, and found the book to be funnier than I originally expected.

Unfortunately, as far as stories go, I found this one to be quite bland. It is, indeed, about the protagonists unlikely friendship with the daughter of her employer, and how their friendship grows and changes.

But I found it to be a story not worth reading. I got half-way through before I realised that I didn't care for any of the characters in anyway shape or form, and certainly not enough to trudge through the rest of the book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK for providing me with an ARC

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Hilarious and full of her usual quips, but with a dark undertone.

[Lisa Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I should have read the blurb better for this book, as with the title I was expecting either some coming of age story, or for someone to tire of their dull existence and overhaul their whole life. I'd also seen lots of quotes about how funny this was and was really looking forward to it.

Instead, I listened to the ramblings of a middle aged woman who had made bad choices and ended up with an indifferent husband and a 'best friend' who epitomises the term 'frenemies'. I'd go as far as to say she is emotionally abusive and I hated Sue for putting up with it.

The only interesting character is Honey, and although everyone talks about how wonderful she is, they don't actually seem to understand or like her very much.

I kept waiting for Sue to get a back bone and stand up for herself, do something worthwhile to legitimise the title, but in the end fate takes over and the book splutters to an end. It almost feels as though the author is searching for how to end it, then real life world affairs kick in and give her an out.

It was dull and had I not been reading it to review for Netgalley, I probably would have DNF.

[Eleanor]

Very well-done, very funny, often quite painful. Think Sue Townsend but with a female middle-aged protagonist who is less of a poseur than Adrian Mole, although they share some literary DNA, crossed with Barbara Trapido. One line in particular, about how 1991 in provincial Britain was still basically the '80s, elucidated a lot for me—not just about the book, but about people I know, some of whom I'm related to. A great introduction to Stibbe's work and style.

[Katy O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

(free review copy) The book showed up in my mailbox from the publisher and although I knew nothing about it, I loved the cover so much that I started reading it immediately. And I have such mixed feeling about it. I almost stopped reading several times because it was unlikeable at that moment, or because the setting and cultural references were so foreign to me despite me having read hundreds of books set in England. But, I kept reading. I kept wanting to know more about Susan (not Norma - I hated Norma) and I really did love her commentary on life and society.

I don’t know anyone I would specifically recommend this book to, but I’m happy I read it and will carry the university setting and Susan’s viewpoints (especially re motherhood) with me for a long time.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so happy to have found this author! It's good quality comic fiction. This one is about a woman who abandons her academic ambitions to marry and raise a daughter, and her circuitous path to the academy, just as the corona virus pandemic is breaking out. Believable, complex characters, fondly drawn. I already have started another of her novels.

[Liv (livreads_) · Rating 2 out of 5]

One Day I Shall Astonish the World begins in the 90s with the story of Susan and her best friend, Norma. It then skips forward to 2020 and we start to learn about Susan’s life now with her husband, Roy, and their daughter, Honey. The story then jumps between past and present day, exploring all the relationships within Susan’s life.

This is definitely a character driven novel, with focus on friendships, relationships and the dynamics within them, so don’t expect to get much of a plot line. Some people really enjoy this kind of novel, however for me I found it really hard to get into and follow properly. I sadly didn’t really connect to any of the characters and the humour that runs throughout wasn’t my kind of vibe.

It reminded me a bit of Adults by Emma Jane Unsworth, so if you enjoyed that or something similar then this one might be for you!

Thank you to @vikingbooksuk for the gifted hardback copy of this book!🤍

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Nina's writing but had read a few reviews that this was her weakest book to date. Strongly disagree. It's not Reasons to be Cheerful (a masterpiece) but brims with her trademark wit and observation of how significant the subtleties of life can be, this time in the context of female friendship power dynamics. I really looked forward to picking it up each time. I loved it.

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. It made me laugh a couple of times and I enjoyed some of the very specific descriptions and observations, but thought it was trying a bit too hard to be a modern-day Barbara Pym.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Nina Stibbe’s debut novel, Man at the Helm, laugh-out-loud hilarious all the way through, so I’ve approached her every novel (and the non-fiction) since then with hopes of a repeat experience. Alas, none of her subsequent books has, for me, approached the giddy heights of her first, and this is the most recent in the string of disappointments. I guess I could qualify that a little. While not a laugh-fest, this is a wry and mildly amusing story of a middle-aged woman who has been questioning her life choices, especially when comparing the path her life has taken to that of her friend’s—a “friend” who has always been completely selfish and taken terrible advantage—until a crisis gives her a chance to shine and to reassess how she feels about, well, pretty much everything.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my third Stibbe book this was good but Went to London took the dog was very personal its her own character that is very funny and full of quirky charm. I did laugh out loud at this book the characters eccentric and silly and quite believable. I have just found nina stibbe and had a good relaxing read which i so much need at the moment. keep reading her books

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF this book starts out being set in the 1990s but sounds more like the 1950s. Seriously? Were people still routinely buying fabric and making their own clothes in the UK in the 1990s? I just couldn't get past some of the details like that. It just didn't seem believable.

[Sigrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Het eerste boek dat me zo vaak hardop heeft doen lachen.

[Florence Stoker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a while to get into it, so good dry humour but overall lacked a compelling plot

[Beth Bonini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m such a big fan of Nina Stibbe’s memoir Love, Nina, but for some unexamined reason I had never read any of her fiction. There is the same warm voice in this book - narrated by a middle-aged female protagonist of middle age, presumably not so different from the author herself - and the same appreciation for life’s absurdities, but somehow it just wasn’t as successful at winning me over.

You could say that this is a book about toxic female friendship, but Stibbe is just too good-natured (and in some ways, too superficial in her character development) to make that description stick. When I try to summarise the plot - the complexities of female friendship; two women whose life paths diverge - it gives the book a solidity that it somehow lacks in the experience of reading it.

From the beginning, our narrator Susan and her ‘friend’ Norma are an unlikely pair of besties. Susan is hired to work as an assistant at the Pin Cushion, an old-fashioned haberdashery shop owned by the Pavlous, and she is near to the same age as their daughter Norma. Norma and Susan are both university students, but Norma is considered too special and brilliant to be spending her time selling cloth and buttons; later, with no experience whatsoever, she becomes the shop’s manageress. When they first meet, Norma is studying geology, but she later changes to literature - which happens to be Susan’s area of interest. (There is a good bit of literary banter in this book.) Susan is chatty and friendly, and Norma is aloof and rather haughty. They never particularly hit it off, but somehow they evolve into being “friends” - at least from Susan’s point of view. We never really learn Norma’s point of view, but from her behaviour - which varies between intolerance, dismissiveness and downright unkindness - it seems a dubious sort of friendship. Quite early on, when Susan is feeling abandoned by Norma, her husband Roy states that she doesn’t miss Norma herself, but just the idea of her.

’Norma’s just an illusion.’
I had never known him so perceptive and haven’t since.

Susan marries young, after becoming pregnant with her daughter Honey, and drops out of university in order to become a wife and mother. Norma becomes a professor, and despite marrying more than once is determinedly childless. Both women end up working at the University of Rutland, and when Susan becomes the assistant to the Vice-Chancellor, Norma tops that by marrying him. There is definitely a two-way channel of competitiveness between the two women, and yet Norma is just so opaque in terms of characterisation that she seems like more of a minor character than a major one.

It occurred to me, as I read this book, that I don’t often read comic writers. Stibbe can be very funny, and she always has a light, self-deprecating touch, but despite the charms which are all too often described as “quirky”, there was something about this book that failed to grab me.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well this wasn't exactly a shark-jumping exercise, but it was neither a step in the right direction for this fine comedic author nor a continuation of what's gone before. It's not cheapness nor the Leicester connection that has linked Ms Stibbe with the spirit of Sue Townsend, for there clearly has been a kindred spirit, creating social comedies out of the English Midlands and being hugely successful with it. Here, though, the author seems intent on recreating something a bit more, well, Alan Bennett. Leicester takes a back-seat as a lot of the story is set next door, in and around a town housing a fictional University of Rutland, and whatever real-life moments have inspired this story, there are sections here that want to cram in as many social tics, product references and remembrances as possible. And all to nothing like the comedic effect of before.

The story is also a slightly woolly one, with the narrator discussing both her sort-of best friend and her husband, and how over the decades the two never really gelled, and how she seems slightly besotted with, smitten by and perhaps lusting for her boss at the Uni. (Although to reference a further Leicester author, this is nothing like the Malcolm Bradbury and David Lodge-era campus comedies.) Groan at the references to home-made dresses of the vintage as her Saturday job in a fabric store becomes more important than intended; witness how easy it is for a man to progress through the ranks at the gold club he works at, compared to a woman getting anything like the career and life and friends she wants; read with wonderment at dogging coming to Rutland. Yes, there are some very unusual decisions made by our author here, and I longed for the disguised autobiographies of old. The children might be Stibbe's own here, albeit one is of the wrong gender, but there was a definite lack of the spark seen beforehand in the deep dive into her life and times. When we do find why the book has the title it has, we can only respond to it, in the case of this volume, in the negative. Unlike her other books, this was most unextraordinary, and when it is kind of forced to catch up with modern times at the close (again, to little effect), we are aware again that in her prime Townsend would have nailed the whole topic and diary format with so much more purpose, oomph and brevity.

Barely ever better than a disappointment.

[Juliette K · Rating 2 out of 5]

My God, another terrible read! This is a prime example of never judge a book by its cover/blurb. On paper, it sounds like it would be a touching and deep exploration of female friendship. And I've heard good things about Nina Stibbe. But it's just so shallow. And pretty depressing. The characters are both unlikable and dull, the worst combination ever. I found the characterisation of Honey cringy and forced, as I felt like Stibbe was trying to push very dry/quirky humour onto the character which fell flat for me. Susan has very depressing and empty relationships with almost everyone in her life. It never felt to me that Norma cared very much for Susan at all. Conflict is inevitable in every close relationship, but Norma and Susan felt very apathetic towards each other. The only positive things I can say is that there a few times I chuckled very lightly and the ending set in the Covid outbreak had some heartwarming moments. It seems many readers share similar feelings to me.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Day I Shall Astonish the World is an extremely amusing novel providing plenty of laughs as it leads through reader through marriage and friendships. This was my first read by Nina Stibbe and I will be making an effort to look out for her stories in future. In this novel Susan and Norma have been best friends for years, meeting in the 1990s at The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery shop in Leicestershire. Now, Susan has been married to Roy Warren for 28 years, and Norma-Jean Pavlou married Hugo Pack-Allen out of the blue, way back. The author's sharp wit and observations make this story for me and she has perfected the balance of humour and heartbreak. Brilliantly crafted and very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Penguin General UK, Viking via NetGalley, and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

[Sara R · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever suspected that being alive is funny but also kind of depressing, this book is quite literally a reflection of that.

I really enjoyed this slice-of-life tale of a woman who marries probably too young, has a toxic friendship with her first employer's daughter, and leads a small, bleak, and satisfying life for 30 or so years. It's a very ordinary story, told in this very British, understated, dry humour. Susan, the protagonist, sort of gets on with things, in a way that makes her both resilient and infuriating.

TW for the final 10% or so which is full on March-2020-covid - a period which I had no interest in revisiting just yet.
I also kept hoping for Susan to have a bit of a comeuppance over Norma, which didn't quite happen in a way that is true to life if not the rules of narrative as I understand them - but their relationship really was compelling.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at about 80%

At first I thought my rating would be higher and my review would say something about how it didn’t matter that there as no plot because the writing was funny and the characters engaging. But then it just dragged on and on, with nothing happening and the characters becoming more and more unlikeable. Susan and Norma had a horrible friendship, Roy as a husband was awful and I didn’t get to the bit where Honey features more because I started to empathize with all the people in Susan’s life that just wanted her to stop talking. I also agree with a reviewer that said the start of the book felt more like it was set in the 50’s, to the point that when reading it I thought it was and was genuinely shocked that she wasn’t elderly by the time it reached 2020. Overall a disappointing end to a promising start

[Ritu Bhathal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about a woman, Susan, who works with, and ends up best friends with her employer's daughter Norma.
We are privy to the way their relationship develops, from one of colleagues, to best friends, then colleagues again, with less friendship.
The book is set over several decades, and details the changes in their lives, as their own relationship morphs, ending with the horror of COVID-19.
I want to have liked this more, but unfortunately for me, it was a hard read. I was unable to really get into the swing of the book, and found there was not a proper story arc to it, a definite beginning. middle or end...

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for an ARC n exchange for an honest review.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nina Stibbe specializes in quiet, weird characters. This was funny and odd with some pretty sad parts mixed in. It took me a while to get through; it's not the kind of book you're just dying to get back to, but it is a nice tea-and-biscuits kind of novel. The inside flap makes it sound like generic chick lit, which it isn't. It's hard to capture what her deal is exactly, but I like it.

[JMM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story of an uneven friendship crosses decades as the main character, Susan, reflects on her friend Norma’s success, her own dismal marriage and her relationship with her daughter, and the ups and downs of her own work life. It offers flawed characters, dark humor, and a slowly simmering tale of a woman who is not doing herself any favors by accepting less than she ought. I was often frustrated and made uncomfortable by this main character but felt compelled to keep reading nonetheless, and appreciated the writing and the lessons learned.

[Sian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did indeed ‘Love Nina’ and also ‘Man at the Helm’ with their laugh-out-loud sharp and witty quips about ordinary life. Sad to say I was not astonished by this novel at all though I recognise that the ‘world’ seems to have rated it far higher than I have. It occasionally drew a small smile but the wry humour I was expecting was not here. I didn’t engage with the main character and found the story of her rather empty life, dull and depressing.