BOOK REVIEWS: HELL OF A HOLIDAY.Byline: ANDREA HENRY READ IT CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO DIE by CLAIRE CALMAN (Black Swan, pounds 6.99) HHHH With the sun threatening to shine any minute now, thoughts inevitably turn to beaches, bikinis, bronzing and books. What to read on your well-earned hols? Claire Calman's novels are several notches up from chick fic - they're lively, thought-provoking domestic dramas that encroach encroach v. to build a structure which is in whole or in part across the property line of another's real property. This may occur due to incorrect surveys, guesses or miscalculations by builders and/or owners when erecting a building. on Trollope territory. That's Joanna, not Anthony. When friends pull out of a week-long Devon house holiday, Kath plugs the gaps with her lawyer dad Giles and feckless feck·less adj. 1. Lacking purpose or vitality; feeble or ineffective. 2. Careless and irresponsible. [Scots feck, effect (alteration of effect) + -less. brother Rob. Kath's best mate Best Mate (bay gelding, 28 January, 1995 - 1 November, 2005. Sire: Un Desperado, Dam: Katday) was a famous English trained racehorse and three-time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Miranda balks at playing happy families with Kath's nearest and dearest, but tags along with her eco-warrior partner Simon and young daughter Anna. After 10 years together, Miranda and Simon aren't exactly love's young dream. For the past few months he's been frosty and his holier-than-thou attitude is getting her down. Anna's worried her parents might split up. Simon thinks petrol-guzzling Giles might as well have 666 tattooed on his forehead while Giles's lack of paternal feelings for Kath get explained by some secret love letters belonging to her dead mother. Kath and husband Joe just want to have lots of sex without interruption from their two small kids. But the real action's happening in Rob's bed, which he's sharing with his harebrained girlfriend. Meanwhile, the woman of his dreams is just down the hallway, harbouring the mother of all secrets. It's Kath and Joe's ninth anniversary and thoughts turn to their drunken wedding day. Miranda was there. Rob was there. Giles was there. Simon cried off in a huff. And Anna is eight-and-a-quarter. You do the maths. Everyone's approaching 40 and there's midlife crisis midlife crisis n. A period of psychological doubt and anxiety that some people experience in middle age. midlife crisis in the air. Needless to say, it's the holiday from hell. Calman impressively gets to grips with the gripes of modern life. With some great insights into the weakness of the flesh and the realities of parenthood, she has an ear for dialogue, an instinct for intimacy and a cracking sense of humour Noun 1. sense of humour - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humor, humor, humour . Yes, it's all painfully middle-class, with champagne and canapes all round, but the sentiment is universal. Even the well-heeled know how to get down and dirty. Life's lessons learned, Calman's greatest accomplishment is pulling off some semblance of a happy ending. It just wouldn't be a beach read without one. CAPTION(S): SLICE OF LIFE: Claire Calman |
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