Status Updates From Edith & Oliver

loving this read so far , such an intriguing read

First of all. It's 388 pages.

Second of all. That was the most unsatisfying ending.

Oliver almost killing Archie in his madness. Archie recovering and the family running away to Dun Laoghaire in search of safety. Oliver disappearing. Archie falling ill and dying anyway. Edith and Agna returning to Huddersfield. Loving Oliver anyway. Did Oliver return in the end? I honestly don't know and wish he hadn't. Garbage.

So Oliver is depressed and has lost everything, including his family and the memory that he knew of his mother. I can empathize, although after the stealing, lying, gambling...I can't feel sorry.
And now he overhears these men at the Baths and want to steal another illusionists' grand idea to resurrect himself...which, I'm certain, is also going to blow up..

Can we please just have more Edith, Archie, and Agna?

This man...I was rooting for him. And now he's gone and ruined everything. Poor Edith...poor children..

And I'm sorry..can we talk about how Edith has had to adjust to having raising two children in a changing world? How she had to give up her musical dreams so that Oliver could continue touring? How all she wants now is a comfortable life for her family, and Oliver completely disregards her?? Getting angry and flustered and foolish? Typical man 😤

Okay now this man is stupid. Like.. there's something to be said for passion and following your dreams, 100%. But you also have to adjust to what the world is doing. He literally watched the war begin and cinema rise to popularity while his shows emptied. Yes, pursue your dreams, but you have to be creative and flexible and maybe not borrow money from your estranged brother and throw it away....

Just let this talented and passionate man provide for him family already 😭 why is it so bad that he's in his 40s and has a dream?

"You can't think beyond your own limp fucking dick, and all you want to do is squeeze the life out of every single good idea until it's just as fucked!" HAHAHA FUCKING YES THANK YOU PLEASE
I'm a massive proprietor of power in vocabulary, but sometimes "Fuck" really is the one

"If only I could make love to you in a letter - to hear your voice, to touch you, to kiss you, to hold you. Sometimes when I think of you, you seem only like a wonderful dream. Those times frighten me. I need to have you with me..." Stop 🥺

I don't know if this author has been through terrible traumas..but the way she paints how childhood trauma can affect adulthood anxiety is astounding. I feel Oliver's pain. I see his struggles. This breaker of cycles where his family abandoned him. His determination to do right by his new family.

We say "for the time being..." But sometimes a temporary change in circumstance becomes fixed and feels normal. We adapt to the strangest of circumstances much more quickly than we think.


Also these children are 1 year old by timeline and 2-3 years old by behavioural depiction. Don't get me started on another age mystery.

I need to keep up better with these; because while there's not a lot happening in the present tense of the story, there are a lot of background elements. Reading Oliver's story and flashbacks is like getting to know a friend. You suddenly feel like you know everything about them, right down to the dirty details.
Would have maybe liked some warning before the vivid depiction of death and depression...😬

New and found family, worker's strikes, performers getting shafted by the rich...why is this too real ,😔

Honestly the writing is almost mesmerising, and you can feel the raw human emotion behind every word. I've had to slow myself down with it

"you're too fucking Irish" bruh you may be a theatre manager, but you wouldn't know talent and dedication if it bit you in the nose