The Best of Everything - Tender and Heartwarming

The Best of Everything, by Kit De Waal, is the story of Paulette, an auxiliary nurse who is sure she's about to get everything she wanted - getting married to the handsome and charming Denton and then starting a family. But the rug is firmly pulled from under her when his no-good friend Garfield comes to her door one day to tell her that, not only has Denton has been killed in a car crash, but she must stay away from the hospital, and the funeral, because Denton's wife and children will be there. Paulette is devastated and her life begins to drift, resulting in her falling into a relationship with Garfield and having a child, which they call Bird. Paulette is besotted with her son, but soon tires of Garfield, despite him being a great Dad. They split up, but Garfield is still very much in Bird's life. Paulette cannot shake her feelings for Denton and becomes obsessed with the man who killed him while driving drunk. She runs into him and finds that he (Frank) is struggling to look after himself and his grandson, Cornelius. Despite her hatred of Frank, Paulette is drawn to Cornelius - known as Nellie - and begins to help him. Bird and Nellie become a little double act for a while but as they get older things change. Bird begins to drift away from her and goes to live with Garfield. Nellie becomes unmanageable and Paulette turns more and more to drink. However, do not fear, redemption is around the corner! This book is full of great characters, with Paulette being someone you want to spend more time with, despite her faults. She is big hearted and cannot help but spread love - particularly through her Caribbean recipes. Funny at times, but also a hard to read at others, this is a book full of tenderness and family - in all of its many forms. Maybe not quite up to the immense heights of My Name is Leon, this is still a book that is worth your time.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 320 print pages.

Price I paid: £4.00.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, ebook.

Strange Fits of Passion - A Tough Read At Times.

Strange Fits of Passion, by Anita Shreve, centres on Maureen English, a young and successful journalist who marries Harrold, a fellow reporter, after a whirlwind, drink-fuelled romance. She quickly gives birth to a daughter and life looks perfect from the outside, but from the start, her husband cannot control his drinking and tends to violent outbursts. After one beating too many, Maureen flees with her baby to a small fishing town in Maine, some 500 miles away from her husband. She changes her name to Mary Amesbury and pretends that she has been in an accident to explain her facial bruises. She settles into a quiet life in an isolated cottage, but the locals cannot help but be curious. One married man makes a play for her, which she rejects, but she then falls for another married fisherman and they begin an affair. However, when Harrold discovers where she is, he arrives hell-bent on taking her home, but Maureen/Mary is terrified that he will kill her ... the consequences of which are deadly. This story is told via a journalist to Maureen/Mary's grown up daughter some 19 years later using documents from her mother, as well as interviews and court records, which is a strange device and one that I found contributed to a disjointed ending. When we are in the thick of the story, it is gripping and the characters are interesting and tragic. I wanted to shake a few of them for not thinking things through, but hey, they say the heart goes where the heart goes! We do get to see events from the different viewpoints of each character - with the exception of Harrold - which provides added interest, but, at the same time, leaves us not quite knowing the full truth ... who do we believe? It isn't always an easy read, as the violence, threat of violence or its results are ever present. This author always deals with tough topics and as this features domestic violence, this is no exception. I have admired other books by her in the past, but I found this one hard to read at times and was irritated by the poor choices of the main character. However, there are also some lovely descriptive passages that really bring to life the atmosphere and landscape of a remote fishing town. I kind of wished I liked it more, but I didn't quite believe the characters, or situation they found themselves in enough, which impeded my enjoyment.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 332 print pages.

Price I paid: Free, from my mother's book collection.

Formats available: Print, audio cassette, ebook.