Twenty One Locks

by Laura Barton

The course of Jeannie's life has always seemed plotted out. She will remain in the town where she was raised, settle down and have children. But since Jimmy's proposal she has begun to question whether this is what she really wants. Her confusion is not aided by Danny who suggests excitement, possibility and a life beyond the town.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt so sadly disappointed by this book. I had seen it around and thought the idea sounded interesting - a girl, torn between a fiance and a new stranger, on the eve of her upcoming wedding. Bound to be dramatic, right?

Unfortunately, wrong. This book was just too... quiet. The protagonist, Jeannie, is a pale, shadow of a character who I was never quite fully drawn to. She is unhappy where she is, but even her attempts to explore another path her life could take feel unfulfilled. In the end, it feels like all the characters are attempting to change their lives, to rid themselves of staleness and stagnation, but ultimately, all are too weak or too quiet to live their life loudly and fully.

I understand that sometimes this does happen in life - sometimes we live quietly, and things happen that we deal with quietly too. However, it does not make for compelling reading. Barton's prose also tends to be over-detailed with locations, and because of this the plot itself feels vague and shallow.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura Barton's beautifully observed debut novel is the story of Jeannie, a young woman who works behind the perfume counter of a department store in a small town in the North of England, and is soon to be married to Jimmy, an inarticulate mechanic. Jeannie's dilemma is that as the juggernaut of wedding preparations rolls relentlessly towards her, she cannot escape an awareness that she is already sick to death of Jimmy. Everything about him irritates her, particularly his eating habits:

'She watches him, knife and fork held in determined fists, shoulders rounded and head bowed, his body bending in close to the plate. She watches the dart of fork to mouth, the clamp of teeth against cutlery, the lick of the knife, the frantic chewing, jaw clicking, mashed potato slopping to and fro, lips making a light "puh-puh-puh" as if smoking a pipe. She watches as he takes a slice of bread and mops his plate. She watches him lick his gravied fingers, push his plate away and belch.'

Lisa Barton delights in the ordinary, the inconsequential, the kind of detail that you are so accustomed to negotiating, you don't even notice it any more. Here she is describing Jeannie's mother.

'Jeannie's mother is a solid woman, sturdier than her daughter, her body has been broadened by childbirth and biscuits, and she wields a somewhat practical demeanour; she wears her hair short for the sake of convenience and long ago succumbed to the charms of elasticated waistbands.'

The plot is simple. Jeanie meets someone else and so does Jimmy. The question is, will one of them pull the plug or will they both carry on regardless. Barton keeps you guessing until the very end. But it's the tone of the novel that I found most appealing. Somewhere between elegiac and drily amusing, it lingers long after you have finished the final page.

[*Lee* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a wonderfully interesting read.

Barton's way with words was lovely, she was so descriptive, cleverly laying out the world that Jeannie inhabits so I really felt I was there without resorting to the stock standard boring blow by blow account of surroundings - something sorely missing in many of the recent reads I've suffered through (again looking at you 50 shades of shit).

Twenty-one locks is bleak in many ways, with times of lightness interspersed. The storyline is not a particularly happy one - 21 year old Jeannie feels dragged down in the mediocre life she leads in the dull town she has always lived in, and almost trapped with Jimmy, the school yard sweetheart she has chosen to marry, yet is hesitant to do anything to change it, even when opportunity opens up with her meeting Danny. It then unfolds that Jimmy is also having second thoughts. This is a story that seems very real (if that makes sense) and one I am sure is played out across many towns and stagnant suburbs. Barton really does have a feel for small town life which she eloquently pours out on the pages.

I really enjoyed how Barton put the story together, that it was a slow burn with gradual revealing of back story and elements contained within. I for the most part thoroughly enjoyed reading the words that Barton chose and the story she crafted - I loved you couldn't immediately get a handle on exactly when the book was set (the year is later revealed), and the way she constructed the dialogue and interactions between characters.

I didn't really "like" any of the characters as such, but that part of why I enjoyed this read. IN Twenty-One Locks the main characters are actually not particularly likeable in their flaws and weaknesses (and I suppose in how ordinary they are), Barton draws out their personalities so you learn more about them as they journey through the story. I didn't feel much emotion in particular for them (which is not necessarily a bad thing) because I did want to know what would happen to them - and was kept interested enough in their lives to keep turning pages to find out what happened.

My only criticisms would be that there were moments where it was a bit too wordy/overly descriptive, and that she used the word dust too often (lol).

Having only just finished reading the book tonight, I'll have to ponder over it some more, as right up till the last few pages I was guessing at just how it would turn out, and was slightly surprised by the very ending to see what choices the characters made and just where the story stopped.

Kudos to Barton for making a thoroughly entrancing and quite an individual story.

[Grace Harwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book read to me as if it didn't know what it was. Is it a comedy? It's set up like one, but it's not funny. Is it a romance? I've never read anything more depressing if it is. Even if it's just a novel under the heading "general fiction", it's not a very good one. The characters were so self-obsessed, so morbidly depressed by their own existence, so self-pitying; that I just couldn't bring myself to believe in them. Who talks like they do? Nobody does, that's who. They were so depressing as to have no redeeming characteristics whatseover. I managed to finish the book (just) but I didn't really care what happened to them. The settings were grim, the themes were grim, the characters were grim - the whole thing just depressed me. It obviously depressed the editor too, because in my edition of this book I found one glaring typographical error - on page 157, the paragraph which commences "Mind this," was typed twice in a row (it was bad enough first time) and it was so obvious that I could only conclude from it that the editor hadn't bothered to read the ms through properly before printing (and I don't blame him/her).

I tried to find redeeming features - like other reviewers I found some of the passages lyrical and elegant - a good use of language then, but then that is the very least that could be expected from a journalist. I liked the scene with the wedding dress fitting (it was the only really naturalistic scene in the whole book though). I am not familiar with the author's work as a journalist. She might be the best journalist in the whole world for all I know, but what she isn't is a novelist. And if this is what passes for a good example of literature these days, I'm giving up reading - it's just too bloody depressing.

[Tim Bradford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost never read novels these days (I usually prefer books of poetry or facts about sports stats, or kids' history books, or guidebooks to stone circles in Ireland/churches in rural England) - I find novels are usually either boring, overly structured and manipulative or simply too painfully sad. Satisfyingly, I found myself feeling quite life-affirmingly downbeat after reading Twenty-One Locks.

Laura Barton doesn't quite fit into the established categories. For several years she has written about music for The Guardian but her articles are less pieces of journalism and more like passionate and melancholy letters to a friend/unrequited lover. At times in Twenty-One Locks Barton writes like the bastard child of Thomas Hardy and Alan Bennett (OK, that's not quite right, but what the hell). Somehow, sometimes, Barton manages to crack open small scenes to reveal the sheer mundane beauty of the daily life of the mind - and what are novels for, if not that?

I'm only giving it 4 stars because it's just the start of what I expect to be a raft of lyrical, psychologically nuanced, beautiful - and ultimately downbeat - novels from this writer.

(As Thomas Hardy might have said, she's the girlfriend Jack Kerouac never had.)

[Clarice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such a disappointing book. Especially the ending : what does Danny do after discovering Jeannie is getting married? Does he go to the church and stops the wedding? does jeannie says "no" instead of "i do"? maybe Jimmy does?
i know it's supposed to end like this so that everyone can interpret the ending as hey wish, but i like my books with a real/definite ending. so this one was very frustrating.
also : way too much describing. it does help set the tone etc, but it was just too much.
+ Jeannie really is a blan character. she could change her life but decides to stick with something she feels is not right. how stupid is that?

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, the story line was nice and I liked so much the idea. But the author didn't take an advantage from this! It was boring with so many descriptions -we learnt more about the locals and their lives than Jeannie's live and thoughts and feelings!Two stars for the story! And I so much didn't like the end...disappointing!

[Rohan Crickmar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read that ultimately left me feeling a little short-changed.

Laura Barton's debut novel is set in and around Blackburn, Lancashire, an area of the country she knows all too well. It's the story of Jeannie, a 21-year-old woman working the perfume counter in a department store. She has been with her partner Jimmy for a few years and is shortly to be married to him. The novel is the lead up to this wedding day. However, complications come in the form of Danny and Terri, the former a blow-in staying with his grandad and working at the cafe in the train station, the latter a university dropout working in the council who has set her sights on seducing Jimmy.

I genuinely loved the relationship that hesitantly emerges from Danny and Jeannie's meetings. Barton's focus is on Jeannie, but she neatly drops in to the head space of each of the other characters, which complicates the relationship dynamics between them nicely. The day spent fishing at the canal, with its segue into morbidity and quiet eroticism, was a particularly engaging section of the novel and left me wanting to know further how this summer love could develop. Interestingly Barton decided not to go down the route of indulging runaway start-again fantasies and instead, with her gift for location-setting, treads a more difficult narrative pathway of showing why home is where the heart is. A diverting read with a strong sense of place, that I could have happily followed further.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book quite a depressing read - perhaps because it rang a little bit too close to home for my liking. Jeanne and Jimmy are going to be married, they have been going out since school but now are not so sure - not that they would/could admit that - so each of them has an "adventure" with someone else. What I found particularly depressing was that Laura Barton was very good at describing how life in northern towns is but she also manages to impart that for those who come from there perhaps its the best thing for them. Jeanne could "escape" but actually she was an ordinary girl from an ordinary town who didn't seem to have any dreams, just she felt like there must be something "more" but she couldn't define it. I think that is a lot of people, certainly me to some extent, and its a depressing thought. Whereas the community of the small town she lives in will sustain the people who live there there is a feeling of being trapped in all its ordinariness forever, following in the footsteps of mothers and grandmothers. I found some of the imagery used good but unpleasant sometimes - for instance being close enough to smell the coffee on his breath - and there was a lot of reference to smells in this novel which give a tardy grim feel to the places described. So whilst I read it and sort of liked it, I hated it at the same time if that makes any sense, because of its unremitting grimness and lack of hope.

[Bethany Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a weird one for me as it's the first book I've read set in my hometown, Wigan, yet the author didn't seem to like it much going off descriptions in the book. To be fair, it was run down in the 90s I've been told and work has been done since to clean it up, so maybe that's why my view of the town is better. The story was good but felt somewhat unfinished for me and I didn't like any of the characters, in particular the main character as she was sulky and seemed to have few redeeming qualities. I appreciate she felt down and dreary and the town's descriptions enhanced these feelings, but I just didn't see why Danny would like her? I suppose wanting to fly free from the flock impressed him, but then the thought in itself that they wanted to better themselves seemed arrogant in a way. The city life, or travelling life, isn't for everyone and though this seemed to be the lesson towards the end, the final paragraph seems to contradict this. I don't really get what the reader is supposed to take away really, maybe confusion as to whether the right thing happened?
So, all in all, I would recommend if you're interested in learning a bit about Wigan, but bear in mind it's improved since the setting of this book. Also, if you like contemporary this may be a good book to read, and a fairly quick read too.

[Andie Samar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Planeaba darle 3 estrellas pero juro que fue tan irrelevante que hasta había olvidado haberlo leído.
Los personajes son todos planos y tristes, la verdad esperaba mucho más de todos ellos, en algún punto le vi mucho potencial a Danny y luego lo perdió.
No sé qué esperaba de este libro, pero definitivamente no fue lo que leí. Es muy plano, en serio no me causó ninguna emoción leerlo y el final fue muy predecible para mí, hasta quería que la autora lo cambiara a ver si con un buen twist mejoraba, pero no.
Solo fue largo y deprimente, un poco aburrido hasta cierto nivel, perdón pero estas novelas extremadamente descriptivas que no te dicen nada no son mi hit.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief tale of love and doubt, of struggling to work out what the right thing to do is, of knowing your place in your world, of dreams and compromise. In many ways very little happens, but the struggles of two young people, Jeannie and Jimmy, growing up and trying to understand their heart against a background of familial and peer presumptions, feels real and well observed.

Often confounding this readers expectations with the messy reality of life, of emotions, people and relationships, the story confounds the obvious trajectory, and ultimately leaves you guess up to (and beyond?) its ending.

[Kiara · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characters are really shitty people and treat their significant others as if they are a convience whilst leading on other characters who had good intentions , danny . The characters did not deserve to be where they are in the end

[Laura Bruce · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this first when I was about fourteen and was obsessed with it back then.
Reread it this year and sadly twelve years on it does not have the same grip on me.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing writing. Beautiful descriptions which brought the town and its inhabitants to life. A story which held my interest til the end.

[Floss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off intriguing but kinda fizzled out quite quick and found myself just wanting to start something else. It filled a lil’ reading shaped hole and had some lovely descriptions.

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok, but nothing more - it didn't made me feel attracted, thrilled, looking forward to next step/event to happen (maybe only towards the end of the book), whatever... I was hugely disappointed by the weak characters found in this book. In first place by Jeannie - who doesn't like her job, way of living, forthcoming marriage, yet didn't do anything to change the situation. Then, Jimmy who is getting married for a woman who is not making him thrilled, excited, and even though he thinks he found his soul mate, he doesn't find the courage to leave (at the end of the book we find him standing in the church waiting peacefully for Jeannie to come). And, even though Danny looked like an interesting character, I consider him weak one, too, because he always chooses to run away from problems, he doesn't stand directly and tries to solve them. He runs away from old city, relatives, friends thinking that new city, friends, circumstances will give him a better chance and resolve all the problems.

Of course, the setting was described very vividly, however, for me the book was spoiled by the weak characters.

"The problem with this place is that all these people aren't living. They're just stagnating. They've never acted on their own thoughts, they've just followed the same thoughts as everyone else, the same thoughts as their neighbors next door, and the same thoughts their parents had, and their parents before them....So you get a job, so you can earn some money, right? And what do you use that money for? You use it to buy a house. And then you've got your house and you've got your mortgage, and you use your money to get a better car because that's what you're supposed to do, or you use it to buy dresses and microwaves and timeshares. And no one questions it, no one says 'Is this what I want? Do I want to spend my life married to this woman and mowing the lawn and saving up for a new sofa and going to the carvery on a Sunday'...No one asks those questions because they're all terrified. They're crouching in their perfect little houses scared the roof is going to fall in because they don't have the right handbag or the right bathroom suite or they've run out of kitchen roll."

"Sooner or later, you have to decide where you're from and what you're doing and then you have to stick to it. I'm not telling you not to go, I'm just telling you you're going to dream your life away if you're not careful."

[Edel Waugh Salisbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeannie and Jimmy- Teenage sweethearts about to get married.
Both are questioning the path in life that they have found themselves on , and not sure if it is what they really want.
In the book they meet two people both of these people hope to keep them for them selves in the run up to the wedding..Danny, the book reading, ladies man, tea server in the train station has his eye on Jeannie, while the glamourous Terri from down the pub wants to claim Jimmy for herself , and cannot understand why he is with such a dowdy girl like Jeannie.
Life is not easy when you are a small town girl working behind the Perfume counter in the Pemberton while day dreaming a better life for yourself.Jeannie spends her days suggesting different scents to her customers at the beauty/perfume counter while not being particularly interested in it herself- It was not her dream job !!!She then goes home to her slobby,scrappy, beer guzzling fiance every evening, they eat dinner and go to bed...repeat daily..As you can see they are not having the most exciting time of their life.

Laura Barton gives a deep honest feel to what its like to grow up in small towns , working 9-5 ,where everyone knows everyone and your whole life is marked out for you.


I really felt like I was there in that small town seeing what Jeannie was seeing , Laura Barton writes her characters and places very well and although this is not a book that is going to make you laugh hysterically on the floor it will make you care about the characters and the choices they make .
I will look forward to future books by this authur :0)

[Kate’s Book Spot · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book from the 24 hours of deals on The Book Depository, I liked the sound of it and with it being such a bargain I couldn’t resist.

To be quite honest I’m not sure how I feel about this book, it had a certain charm to it but I never fully got caught up in the storyline.

The descriptions of everything were very thorough and made it easy to visualise it all BUT there were times when I felt that there was too much describing, almost to the point of rambling. Sometimes it even went completely off topic and this just confused me, however, the writing style was different to what I’m used to and had an almost magical quality to it which I did find refreshing.

Jeannie was a quiet character, she often seemed dazed by the life surrounding her and I found her to be quite strange. Speaking of strange, Danny was also a bit odd – he intrigued me at the beginning but once the story switched to his point of view I decided that I wasn’t sure about him at all!

The ending confused me even more and I finished the book no closer to a conclusion than when I started! I understand that this was probably intentional but I like a book to end clearly (or on an obvious cliffhanger) so I can feel happy to put the book down and unfortunately that didn’t happen for me.

This was an okay read, I liked the idea for the story and I’m sure there are people who would really enjoy it. I didn’t hate it, but I’m afraid I didn’t love it either.

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very descriptive . To the pint where I found myself skimming some parts of the book .
The characters were shallow . They could have had more depth which would have made the plot more interesting . I thought Danny was going to be someone fabulous . Then I thought he was going to be someone wonderful . Instead he was just as boring as Jeannie & Jimmy .
All the elements were there for a great novel as the plot is an interesting one , but it was generally quite boring with minimal depth .
The end was a let down too . However , I liked that the story was in third person & the reader could therefore understand all parties emotions at the one time .

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down. It's not often that I read a book when I'm supposed to be working or doing my chores. Amazing descriptions although sometimes a little too detailed for me. The author paints incredible pictures with the five senses. I loved the real characters and how much I wanted them to get what they longed for. Not your typical starry-eyed romance, but lots of truth to be gleaned. All in all though, a literary treat!

[Geraldine O'Donnell]

I really did not enjoy this book. It was depressing in every respect. Why did it have to be set up north in 1994? I had never heard the term "perfume girl" even back then in less politically correct times. It felt derogatory and patronising. No doubt that was all intentional and I am not smart enough to appreciate this style of writing. The story is told well enough but it was just too gritty for enjoyment.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I approached this positively as Barton is one of my favourite writers.

It's not quite as chicklitty as i feared! The romance is more in the canal towpaths and railway stations of northern England than in the love triangles of the characters.

A fine debut that kept me guessing to the final few pages. After which i had a big urge to listen to Pulp's "Happy Endings"!

[Tânia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked Twenty One Locks because the protagonist was around my age at the time (although, our life situation was mostly different; marrying at twenty one is too young these days). Nevertheless, I never connected with Jeannie.

Tânia @MyLovelySecret

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great Sunday read.
Read this book over the course of a few hours, and was transported back to my home county of Lancashire in North England.
The ability to relate to the tale of this story was so uncomfortably easy.
Not a great book, but was glad to have zoned out temporarily and allow it to remind me of so many things from 'home'.

[Ben Dutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully observed debut, Laura Barton's Twenty-One Locks deserves to be widely read. It is hard in a debut to avoid the literary novel cliches, and just occassionally she slips close to them. But ultimately this is a rewarding honest and likeable debut.

[Dulhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My First Thought! Very Descriptive, the person's feelings, surrounding, smells etc, it gives the reader a unique sense of the characters and what they are thinking at any given time, the story was as simple as it can be, but the way it was presented was unique and extremely amazing! 2 Thumbs Up!

[Sally Boocock · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle story but heartfelt. Story of everyday life in the north

[Olivia]

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/show/book...

[Heather Cawte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very badly served y the blurb, which makes it sound like a cheap romance novel. In fact the writing is sublime, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.