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Each Way Bet
It’s Melbourne Cup day and the Broadhurst sisters are having an each way bet by trading places. But the odds are against them when their family gets together and they have to cope with predatory females, elusive pregnancy tests, midnight breast examinations and a three-year old with a severe case of potty mouth. Will they make it to the home stretch? Will the Easter Bunny get his man? Will their mother crochet herself into oblivion? Spend a madcap Melbourne Cup day with these sisters and find out if the race that stops a nation can get things back on track.
302 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Ilsa Evans
16 books65 followersIlsa Evans is an Australian author. She has written across several genres from light fiction (such as the books that make up the 'laundry series') to more gritty social realism. Two of her books, Broken and Sticks and Stones stem from the findings of a PhD on the long-term effects of family violence that Ilsa completed in 2005. Ilsa teaches creative writing and carries out public speaking when she is not writing. She lives in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne with her children, assorted pets and several uninvited possums.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 23, 2016
Reading one of Ilsa Evens's books is always a joy. She has characters that are real - people you meet everyday. Laughter and chaos are covering up some gritty subjects. Each Way bet has a three year old who swears like a trooper and 3 sulky teenage siblings. Her mother and aunt each want what the other one has - so swap lives for a day. That day is Melbourne Cup day and each year there is a big family get together - set on the one day that stops a nation mayhem unfolds as the truths come out.
May 11, 2015
Ilsa Evans' work is always good value and this one was no exception. Sisters Emily and Jill change places for a day, which just happens to be the Melbourne Cup - a sacrosanct occasion in Australia. Jill scuttles over to Emily's beautiful, undefiled-by-children apartment and sinks into the bath and then the bed, reveling in the silence and the knowledge that she can do as she pleases for once.
Emily, self-righteously scurries to Jill's house where she is greeted by chaos - sulky teens and a foul-mouthed toddler. How could Jill have allowed her home to get into this state, she wonders, and just what does Jill DO all day?
Into the mix is the elder sister - Corrine - who normally hosts a family party on Melbourne Cup Day, complete with competitive games. This year her father in law is desperately ill, so Jill has to have the party at her house. Several boxes arrive with the games and instructions. The stage is set for a great time!
Things go downhill from there!
A wildly funny novel, well written and not even slightly exaggerated family life, even when one factors in Jack, Jill's husband (yes I know) and his parents and the parents of Jill, Emily, Corrine and Adam, the Broadhurst children and the supercilious daughter of Corrine - Charlotte - and the stage is set for a riotous time.
Thoroughly enjoyable!!!
September 18, 2018
This book is such a delight! The language is so clear and the silly 'grass is greener' style of jealousy between siblings is so real.
Early on there were extra commas and an abundance of italics that tried hard to break my stride, and the dream sequence completely pulled me out of the story - it was too confusing to the reader, and had none of the flow real dreams have (even when they're impossible, dreams always feel like they're making perfect sense - instead, I had to check and re-check what I was reading for two pages before realizing I'd been conned).
But Cricket! Oh wow how three year old Cricket makes up for anything! The way this 'more attractive version of Little Orphan Annie' swears like a trooper at exactly the right moment had me forever in stitches.
Even better than Cricket's precocious terrorizing was the flow of conversation during Melbourne Cup day at the Jack and Jill household. It was so realistic it rolled straight off the page and into my head as though I was there - not involved (because that would be way too hard to keep up) but as a fly on the wall, privy to everyone's perspective and thoughts.
A beautiful, delightful read you can knock over in a day.
Early on there were extra commas and an abundance of italics that tried hard to break my stride, and the dream sequence completely pulled me out of the story - it was too confusing to the reader, and had none of the flow real dreams have (even when they're impossible, dreams always feel like they're making perfect sense - instead, I had to check and re-check what I was reading for two pages before realizing I'd been conned).
But Cricket! Oh wow how three year old Cricket makes up for anything! The way this 'more attractive version of Little Orphan Annie' swears like a trooper at exactly the right moment had me forever in stitches.
Even better than Cricket's precocious terrorizing was the flow of conversation during Melbourne Cup day at the Jack and Jill household. It was so realistic it rolled straight off the page and into my head as though I was there - not involved (because that would be way too hard to keep up) but as a fly on the wall, privy to everyone's perspective and thoughts.
A beautiful, delightful read you can knock over in a day.
January 1, 2025
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: fiction - contemporary fiction
Does the blurb reflect the plot: it gives a great overview of what’s to come
Sum it up: Each Way Bet is one of Evans’ earlier novels that I’ve finally been able to track down and it was worth the wait. Both funny and heartfelt, it’s a novel it’s choc full of well developed characters that are completely relatable and will undoubtedly remind you of your own family. Add them to a plot that proves that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and you’ve got a feel good novel that gives you all the warm and fuzzies but which is also engaging and pleasant to read. You’ll probably only find Each Way Bet in second hand book stores now, but if you see a copy grab it, as it’s a recommended read.
Who should read it: fans of contemporary fiction, books set in Australia and those looking for a good holiday read.
Each Way Bet is my twenty second read in #ktbookbingo. Category ‘Author’s first and surname both start with vowels’. To play along with my book bingo and to see what else I’m reading, go to #ktbookbingo or @peggyanne_readsandruns on Instagram.
Genre: fiction - contemporary fiction
Does the blurb reflect the plot: it gives a great overview of what’s to come
Sum it up: Each Way Bet is one of Evans’ earlier novels that I’ve finally been able to track down and it was worth the wait. Both funny and heartfelt, it’s a novel it’s choc full of well developed characters that are completely relatable and will undoubtedly remind you of your own family. Add them to a plot that proves that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and you’ve got a feel good novel that gives you all the warm and fuzzies but which is also engaging and pleasant to read. You’ll probably only find Each Way Bet in second hand book stores now, but if you see a copy grab it, as it’s a recommended read.
Who should read it: fans of contemporary fiction, books set in Australia and those looking for a good holiday read.
Each Way Bet is my twenty second read in #ktbookbingo. Category ‘Author’s first and surname both start with vowels’. To play along with my book bingo and to see what else I’m reading, go to #ktbookbingo or @peggyanne_readsandruns on Instagram.
May 4, 2019
Some really lovely writing and laugh-out-loud, relatable moments. A chaotic relatable household with likeable flawed characters. Some of it dragged on a bit and I grew impatient with the wind up but perhaps that says more about me than the book
August 13, 2018
Enjoyable, light, possibly incomprehensible to a non Australian (the fervour around a horse race)
May 9, 2016
I always enjoy Ilsa Evans books - so much humour and chaos!! This one is no exception - though perhaps more condensed given it spans just one day in timeframe from start to finish.
Once more, the realistic characters and dialogue left me visualising each scene with the repartee playing out like gunfire. How Emily could ever had thought the grass was greener on Jill's side of the fence is a stretch for the imagination, but I totally got Jill's perspective. In the end everyone realised what they wanted and went forward to reach it, so well done!
Once more, the realistic characters and dialogue left me visualising each scene with the repartee playing out like gunfire. How Emily could ever had thought the grass was greener on Jill's side of the fence is a stretch for the imagination, but I totally got Jill's perspective. In the end everyone realised what they wanted and went forward to reach it, so well done!
November 14, 2009
Quite amusing - especially the three and a half year old who keeps swearing.
November 14, 2009
All Ilsa Evan's books are funny (except Broken which couldn't be more different), so this one was no exception.
March 8, 2012
It started off OK but has rapidly declined in a mass of cliches and vague characters. I shall persevere til the end but my hopes aren't high....
August 17, 2015
Predictable mixups and miscommunications propel this Australian-set novel.
January 7, 2010
Great for a fun read, a chaotic home life I can identify with. Some laugh out loud moments.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews