Amazon UK
Title: The Woman Who Upped and Left
Author: Fiona Gibson
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: 25th February 2016
Rating: 5 Stars
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| Amazon UK |
Forget about having it all. Sometimes you just want to leave it all behind.
Audrey is often seized by the urge to walk out of her house without looking back – but she can’t possibly do that.
She is a single parent. She is needed. She has a job, a home, responsibilities…and a slothful teenage son’s pants to pick up.
But no one likes being taken for granted – Audrey least of all – so the time has come for drastic action. And no one’s going to stand in her way…
Audrey is often seized by the urge to walk out of her house without looking back – but she can’t possibly do that.
She is a single parent. She is needed. She has a job, a home, responsibilities…and a slothful teenage son’s pants to pick up.
But no one likes being taken for granted – Audrey least of all – so the time has come for drastic action. And no one’s going to stand in her way…
This is easily my favourite Fiona Gibson yet, and I have read quite a few by the author. It was one of those incredibly enjoyable to read stories, that I knew I was going to like, just by reading the list of chapter headings, and seeing that chapter 1 was entitled Fried Chicken. All the others are food related too, and there is definitely a culinary slant to the book.
Going back to the fried chicken, there is a incident in the first chapter involving it which really sets the tone for the book, and is very funny too.
Audrey is a character a lot of women will identify with I feel. She is working two jobs, is a single mother to an 18 year old slobbish teenage boy and the feeling that she is no longer even noticed in her own home. She is fed up of picking up her son's pants and trying persuade him to leave the house to earn money.
When Audrey wins an unexpected award, she has the choice of two fairly impressive prizes, she has to make a big decision, and the one she makes spur of the moment leads to some great consequences, and some hilarious moments.
Loved seeing the interactions between Audrey and her son Morgan, and can just see some of the same conversations playing out in living rooms up and down the country, The characterisation for a teenage boy was perhaps slightly stereotypical, but definitely spot on, and could imagine him very clearly. I also loved seeing Audrey in her two job roles, and its clear she is the sort of person who really cares about people, which is a great quality to have.
Audrey also has a wonderfully naive charm to her, and seeing her pure enthusiasm for the simplest things in life is refreshing, on the other hand the nature of her on-off relationship with Stevie seems a bit more on the seedy side.
Loved reading every second of The Woman Who Upped and Left, and the story surprised me from what I was assumed when I saw the title and the blurb, to what I was present with, and I'm glad about it. Would much rather read something I haven't predicted fully from the start, and can be surprised by, than reading a completely predictable story. If you have read other Fiona Gibson books then I'm sure you will enjoy this one too, and if you haven't then I would recommend you give her a go, especially if you like comedy and are a fed up mother who wants characters you can relate to.
Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.
Going back to the fried chicken, there is a incident in the first chapter involving it which really sets the tone for the book, and is very funny too.
Audrey is a character a lot of women will identify with I feel. She is working two jobs, is a single mother to an 18 year old slobbish teenage boy and the feeling that she is no longer even noticed in her own home. She is fed up of picking up her son's pants and trying persuade him to leave the house to earn money.
When Audrey wins an unexpected award, she has the choice of two fairly impressive prizes, she has to make a big decision, and the one she makes spur of the moment leads to some great consequences, and some hilarious moments.
Loved seeing the interactions between Audrey and her son Morgan, and can just see some of the same conversations playing out in living rooms up and down the country, The characterisation for a teenage boy was perhaps slightly stereotypical, but definitely spot on, and could imagine him very clearly. I also loved seeing Audrey in her two job roles, and its clear she is the sort of person who really cares about people, which is a great quality to have.
Audrey also has a wonderfully naive charm to her, and seeing her pure enthusiasm for the simplest things in life is refreshing, on the other hand the nature of her on-off relationship with Stevie seems a bit more on the seedy side.
Loved reading every second of The Woman Who Upped and Left, and the story surprised me from what I was assumed when I saw the title and the blurb, to what I was present with, and I'm glad about it. Would much rather read something I haven't predicted fully from the start, and can be surprised by, than reading a completely predictable story. If you have read other Fiona Gibson books then I'm sure you will enjoy this one too, and if you haven't then I would recommend you give her a go, especially if you like comedy and are a fed up mother who wants characters you can relate to.
Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.
I haven't read any of her books but this sounds good.
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