I will begin this review by saying that I really like Dawn French and she is a very talented writer in many ways, however, this book was just not for me.
This is a book about mother-daughter relationships: the love, secrets, betrayal, loss, grief, courage, and forgiveness. Hope and her relationship with her alcoholic mother; Anna desperate to be a mother but deprived of it by another’s selfish actions; Minnie and Hope’s unbreakable bond built on a lie. I found it all very sad and depressing and not at all suited to Dawn French’s writing style. I failed to see the humour in any of it, even when it was obvious “hit you in the face” attempts at humour.
Stillbirth, child abduction, alcoholism, drug taking, affairs, are never easy things to write about and Dawn did her best to try and address all of these things in a sensitive but humorous way, but I just couldn’t warm to the style of writing. I found it all quite glib; there was no depth or meaning given the heartbreaking storyline, and I found the outcome disappointing.
I initially felt sorry for Hope, and even more so for Quiet Isaac, but their subsequent actions and disregard for another’s loss and pain, made them totally reprehensible. I didn’t enjoy any of the characters and had little or no sympathy for them, even Anna who was so badly done by. The policeman was laughable but not in a good way and the only likeable character I found was the trainee midwife.
As for the storyline it was just not believable, that the child of an MP could be abducted and the investigation of it so ineptly carried out. That a wife would confront her husband and his mistress in that way.
Dawn French has a lovely comedic writing style suited to lighter subjects but here I found myself flummoxed. During some of her longer descriptive passages I found myself skim reading, and worse than that I found that instead of being engaged with these people going through a dreadful ordeal, I simply just didn’t care.
Not a dreadful read, but I can’t understand all of the 5 star ratings and think that if it wasn’t Dawn French (national treasure that she is) it would not have been a best seller. Easy, throw away read if you just want to pass some time, but avoid if you want an emotional, heart wrenching tale or a laugh aloud comedy as it falls way short of both.
This is a book about mother-daughter relationships: the love, secrets, betrayal, loss, grief, courage, and forgiveness. Hope and her relationship with her alcoholic mother; Anna desperate to be a mother but deprived of it by another’s selfish actions; Minnie and Hope’s unbreakable bond built on a lie. I found it all very sad and depressing and not at all suited to Dawn French’s writing style. I failed to see the humour in any of it, even when it was obvious “hit you in the face” attempts at humour.
Stillbirth, child abduction, alcoholism, drug taking, affairs, are never easy things to write about and Dawn did her best to try and address all of these things in a sensitive but humorous way, but I just couldn’t warm to the style of writing. I found it all quite glib; there was no depth or meaning given the heartbreaking storyline, and I found the outcome disappointing.
I initially felt sorry for Hope, and even more so for Quiet Isaac, but their subsequent actions and disregard for another’s loss and pain, made them totally reprehensible. I didn’t enjoy any of the characters and had little or no sympathy for them, even Anna who was so badly done by. The policeman was laughable but not in a good way and the only likeable character I found was the trainee midwife.
As for the storyline it was just not believable, that the child of an MP could be abducted and the investigation of it so ineptly carried out. That a wife would confront her husband and his mistress in that way.
Dawn French has a lovely comedic writing style suited to lighter subjects but here I found myself flummoxed. During some of her longer descriptive passages I found myself skim reading, and worse than that I found that instead of being engaged with these people going through a dreadful ordeal, I simply just didn’t care.
Not a dreadful read, but I can’t understand all of the 5 star ratings and think that if it wasn’t Dawn French (national treasure that she is) it would not have been a best seller. Easy, throw away read if you just want to pass some time, but avoid if you want an emotional, heart wrenching tale or a laugh aloud comedy as it falls way short of both.